Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres Mantel Clocks

An outstanding quality antique gilded bronze & Sevres porcelain French 3 piece, 8 day clock garniture with candelabra, by Brocot & Delettrez, Paris, circa 1870. The clock with an 'egg' shaped urn made of cobalt blue Sevres porcelain with a hand-painted panel with a neo-classical beauty and a cupid, the rear is painted with gilt birds & floral decoration. The urn with gilt bronze handles to the sides held in the mouths of lion's masks, the clock below also with sumptuously decorated with gilded cobalt porcelain panels, the clock dial with black Roman numerals & is finely painted with two horses and a chariot with a putti falling out of the chariot. The clock has two winding arbors one for the 8 day time wind the other for a chime, the clock chimes the hours on a soft delicate sounding bell, the clock is in full working order and was recently professionally cleaned. The clock is complemented with a pair of gilt bronze & cobalt blue Sevres porcelain four branch vasiform candelabras, decorated with oval panels to the front with putti & Neoclassical maidens, the back panels finely painted with birds, each candelabra is in two sections and raised on gilt bronze bases with corbel brackets & acanthus leaf feet. The bronze casting is very likely by the Barbedienne Foundry in Paris, as the quality is outstanding, the clock is stamped "BD" for Achille Brocot (1817-1878) and Jean-Baptiste Delettrez (1816-1887), they were two of the most important French clock makers of the mid to late 19th century, please see some biography below. The clock is mechanically & cosmetically in excellent condition, and was recently overhauled by a clock-smith, the porcelain & ormolu are also in excellent condition, one of the very best investment quality gilt-bronze & Sevres porcelain clock garnitures by the top French makers of the period, circa 1870. This garniture will be professionally crated for shipping. Delettrez and Achille Brocot, son of the respected clockmaker Louis-Gabriel Brocot, established the clockmaking company "Brocot et Delettrez" in Paris on 20 October 1851, with premises at 62 Rue Charlot Paris. Jean-Baptiste Delettrez worked alongside Achille Brocot for several years and their clock movements are considered to be the most effective made during the late 19th century. Their specialty was a range of clocks based on the innovations of Brocot père and his other son Antoine, but generally of Achille's greatly advanced original design, some having a unique single-arm double-wheel escapement, some having a temperature-compensated pendulum, some having two dials, one of which showed the time and the other which showed a calendar and often other information such as phases of the moon, times of sunrise & sunset in Paris, etc. The firm was awarded a 1st class prize at the Paris World Exposition of 1857 for a commercial clock...

A fine quality Louis XVI style bronze ormolu mantel clock. The case is made of gilt brass and bronze ormolu casted ornaments, Roman numerals in white enameled cartouches. On top of t...

Late 19th century gilt bronze and turquoise Sèvres porcelain 'Jeweled' three-piece clock set The clock surmounted by a covered urn, the c...

PRESENTING A STUNNING mid to late 19C French Japy Freres & Red/Magenta Sevres Porcelain Mantle Clock with Garniture Candlestick Ewers. The clock movement is by the famous Parisienne Clockmaker … ‘Japy Freres’ and the clock dial has the marks for “JAY” (short for Japy Freres) & “Paris” on the dial face. The clock mechanism and clock face/dial have matching serial numbers of “7225”. The movement also has the numbers: “5 – 2”. The clock face/dial also has the initials: “D.H.”. The gilt ormolu clock case is gilt spelter and is signed on the rear base, for having been made by “P.H. Mourey” of Paris, who worked with and for ‘Japy Freres’, towards the end of the 19th Century. The signature of ‘Mourey’ also bears the numbers “85” … probably for 1885, but could also be the serial number. Taking into account Mourey’s historical association with Japy, being late 19th Century, we are leaning heavily towards this being the date of manufacture i.e. 1885. The Clock has RARE red/magenta Sevres hand-painted porcelain paintings/additions, to include:- (i) a 2 handled and lidded urn on the crown with pointed flame finial, (ii) a pair of bulbous urns either side of the main body and clock face, (iii) the clock face and dial itself and (iv) a flat rectangular medallion on the front base. The crown urn and the base medallion both have similar themes, but different painted scenes, depicting French rural countryside scenes with cottages, rivers and bridges. The porcelain urns on the sides, likewise have hand-painted images of a young boy, in rustic period attire on the right and a young girl on the left. None of these paintings appear to be signed. The clock case has GLORIOUS detail to it, with scrolls, ribbons, vines, grapes and Corinthian columns. The clock sits on a custom made gilt wood and burgundy velvet plinth, that is original to the piece and was a common accent with ‘Japy Freres Clocks’, when originally retailed in their Paris shop. The rear of the clock is plain and the perspex/clear resin plate insert, is a new addition, but a nice addition, in that it allows one, to view the movement and pendulum works. The clock is an 8 day movement with a strike on the hour and half hour. The clock face has 2 winding holes … one for the pendulum movement and the other for the striking chime/ring. Unlike British clocks this clock does not have a long musical chime … it is a simple ‘single strike’ on the half hour. The red/magenta Sevres porcelain clock face/dial is in SUPERB condition. Roman numerals with gilt accents and a hand-painted circular wreath/bouquet of spring flowers on the center section. To complete the set, we have a matching pair of gilt ormolu spelter and hand-painted red/magenta Sevres porcelain Ewers … which can hold a single candle each. The porcelain urns on the central section, have hand-painted images of a young lady in rustic period attire … fishing on the riverbank on the right and a young man playing the flute in the countryside on the left. The front base medallions on each ewer have hand-painted wreaths/bouquets of spring flowers. The clock facing side of the porcelain urn on each Ewer, has a brass ormolu applique head, of the Greek god of wine-making, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, festivity, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, and theatre, namely, Dionysus. The plinths are signed on the rear top left corner, and we think they read: “R.P. Unfaut”. They also bear the numbers “61” and “69”, Again, possibly for 1861 and 1869, but here we think it is more likely they are serial numbers, as it is highly unlikely that a matching pair were made 8 years apart! Whilst we cannot find any information on ‘R.P. Unfaut’, we can only guess that he/she/they worked with, or for, ‘Japy Freres’, as these ewers are unmistakably, a ‘superb’ match for the clock! The style, subject matter, gold banding and edging, around the paintings, are virtually ‘identical’ to the same decorations on the clock’s porcelain paintings. The Ewer on the left (with the boy playing the flute) appears to have a faded signature on the gold border of the painting towards the base and we think it is the signature of ‘Alexandre Evariste Fragonard’ …. one of the best known artists attached to Sevres in the mid 19th Century … meaning, that these Ewers were probably made circa 1845-50. The quality and detail to these 2 paintings is classic Fragonard! We are of the opinion, therefore that these garnitures, were made circa 35/40 years before the clock, as Mourey was prevalent with Japy around 1880 – 1900. The clock paintings are of a very similar, rustic ‘Fragonard Style’ subject matter and although unsigned, could possibly have been painted by a Sevres artist, to replicate the Fragonard paintings...

A fine example of sevres biscuit porcelain showing an allegorical group of three classically draped young figures, two embracing; all standing beside the clock case which is surmount...

A fine quality 19th century French Sevres porcelain and gilded ormolu clock garniture. Having a very impressive pair of five branch candelabra each...

This rare Renaissance Revival garniture, consisting of a clock and pair of boxes in form of chalices with hinged bonnets, is richly decorated with numerous hand-painted medallions with portraits of medieval French...

A good quality French, 19th century pink sevres porcelain and gilded ormolu clock set. Having a classical urn to the top, an eight day chiming movement. A romantic scene painted to t...