Gilt Ormolu and Sèvres Clock with Candelabras
View Similar Items
Gilt Ormolu and Sèvres Clock with Candelabras
About the Item
- Creator:Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres (Maker)
- Dimensions:Height: 16 in (40.64 cm)Width: 10 in (25.4 cm)Depth: 4.5 in (11.43 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 3
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:circa Late 19th Century
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Vancouver, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU90102104242
Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres
A maker of exemplary European ceramics for hundreds of years, Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres has produced porcelain of the highest quality since 1740.
The factory enjoyed royal patronage from its earliest days, and its most prominent patrons in the late 1700s — King Louis XV of France and his mistress, Madame de Pompadour — commissioned some of the period’s most elegant and striking pieces (only the truly wealthy could afford porcelain at this time). The company was originally established in Vincennes but was moved at the request of Madame de Pompadour, in 1756, to Sèvres, near Versailles, so that its operations would be closer to her château.
Sèvres became a mighty and much-revered factory working under a special grant from King Louis XV — the company’s owner as of 1759 and whose abundance of orders for special state gifts put financial strain on the company. Madame de Pompadour is said to have commissioned Sèvres to create an entire indoor garden of porcelain botanicals, for example.
While Sèvres gained a sterling reputation for its soft-paste porcelain wares, the company was late in entering into the production of hard-paste porcelain.
Hard-paste porcelain is the most common type of Chinese porcelain, then a widely exported and profitable product that was not made in Europe until the 18th century. The resources at Sèvres were largely relegated to meeting the demands of Louis XV, and secondly, it did not acquire the secret formula for hard-paste porcelain until 1761. Until it obtained the coveted secrets behind hard-paste porcelain from a chemist named Pierre-Antoine Hannong — and, years later, gained access to the elusive raw materials to make hard-paste porcelain — Sèvres produced soft-paste porcelain for decades that was widely celebrated but is comparatively a far weaker type as opposed to the hard-paste productions of the company’s rival, Meissen, in Saxony, the first to produce true porcelain outside of Asia.
The artisans at Sèvres applied the rarest and most difficult-to-produce colors to their decorative objects and dinner services. One such color, the bright bleu de roi, became the manufacturer’s signature shade and is found on many of their objects. Sèvres also experimented with rarely glazed or unglazed works that bore no decoration at all — bisque porcelain, French for “biscuit,” refers to unadorned white porcelain sculptures made at Sèvres that resemble white marble after being kiln-fired.
Sèvres marks were applied over the glaze or rendered with cuts by a sharp tool — authentic Sèvres porcelain is most commonly marked with two interlaced Ls that are painted in blue and enclose a third letter. Painters and potters were tasked with affixing marks to record their role in the creation of a particular piece, and as a lot of these artisans’ names are recorded in archival factory materials — and there is also much to be learned at the Sèvres museum — it’s likely that you can accurately identify your Sèvres piece.
Find antique and vintage Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres vases, urns, sculptures and more on 1stDibs.
- French Mantel Clock and Candelabra of Gilt Bronze and Blue ‘Sèvres’ PorcelainLocated in London, GBA Good French mantel clock garniture By Charles Oudin, Paris The garniture comprising a clock and two candelabras, constructed in gilt bronze and ‘Se...Category
Antique 19th Century French Mantel Clocks
MaterialsOrmolu
- Chinoiserie Cold Painted and Gilt Bronze Clock and CandelabraLocated in London, GBThis clock set is designed in a wonderful ‘chinoiserie’ style. This style was inspired by the art of China, and it was very fashionable in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries. The ...Category
Antique Early 19th Century French Chinoiserie Mantel Clocks
MaterialsOrmolu, Bronze
- Three-Piece Louis XV Rococo Style Porcelain and Ormolu Clock SetBy Manufacture Nationale de SèvresLocated in London, GBThree-piece Louis XV Rococo style porcelain and ormolu clock set French, late 19th century Clock: Height 82cm, width 62, depth 28cm Candelabra: Height 76cm, diameter 22cm Compr...Category
Antique Late 19th Century French Rococo Mantel Clocks
MaterialsOrmolu
- Late 18th Century Louis XVI Period Bronze Ormolu Mantel Clock with CandelabrasLocated in Casteren, Noord-BrabantA finely bronze fire-gilded ormolu mantel clock set with matching candelabras. Rich ornate with typical Louis XVI mounts, floral garlands, scrolls, ribbons and bow. The case is made ...Category
Antique 1770s French Louis XVI Mantel Clocks
MaterialsCarrara Marble, Enamel, Bronze, Ormolu
- Exceptional French 19th Century Gilt Bronze Mantel Clock and Candelabra SetBy Japy FrèresLocated in London, GBA Garniture de Cheminee by Japy Freres et Cie Constructed in two color gold ormolu, comprising a richly decorated mantle clock and two candelabra in ...Category
Antique 19th Century French Belle Époque Mantel Clocks
MaterialsOrmolu
- Sèvres Style Gilt Bronze Mounted Porcelain Clock SetBy Manufacture Nationale de SèvresLocated in London, GBThis magnificent five-piece clock set is designed in the style of 18th century porcelain produced by the famous Sèvres Manufactory in France. The set is comprised of a mantel clock, a pair of flanking vases—which double-up as candelabra—and two candlesticks. The five items are crafted from ‘bleu Sèvres’ (navy) colored porcelain, which has been finely parcel gilt, jewelled and painted, and mounted in gilt bronze (ormolu). The mantel clock is composed of a circular porcelain dial, with a central painting of cherubs in flight, encircled by black Roman Numerals within white medallions. This is set within a gilt bronze bezel, crowned by a porcelain lidded urn, fitted with gilt bronze satyr head handles, draped with flower swags, and topped by a gilt bronze grape cluster finial. The clock case is supported on four porcelain columns, which are surmounted by a gilt bronze pinecone-tipped staff, draped with tasselled fabrics. A gilt bronze sculpture of a dancing Maenad (also called a Bacchante)—a female follower of the classical god of wine and ecstasy, Dionysus (or Bacchus). The woman plays the tambourine and is accompanied by a putto. The clock is placed on a shaped gilt bronze base, with two projecting scrolled wings, decorated with gilt bronze acanthus leaves and porcelain patera. The base is mounted with porcelain paintings of classical trophies, and putti within a gilt bronze cartouche frame. It is set on two gilt bronze feet, which are decorated with pointed porcelain covers and gilt bronze rosettes. Depending on personal preference, the vases that accompany the clock can be left as they are or made to serve as candelabra. When vases, they are topped by porcelain domed lids, with gilt bronze grape finials. To turn the items into candelabra, these lids are replaced by gilt bronze covers. Each cover is fitted with six gilt bronze branches—five of which are scrolling and decorated with acanthus leaves, and one extends upwards in a straight line. These terminate in wide drip-pans and urn-shaped capitals. The porcelain vase bodies feature fine paintings of couples courting in garden settings, and they are fitted with gilt bronze cherub head...Category
Antique Late 19th Century French Rococo Mantel Clocks
MaterialsOrmolu, Bronze
$84,168 / set
