Empire Gilt Bronze Clock of Standing Classical Lady Unveiling an Urn of Plenty

An rare model French Empire mantle clock featuring a classical urn with dragon handles. The clock is entirely of gilded bronze with original fire gilding. The urn-shaped case is surm...

A fine example of a period French Empire mantle clock in finely chased and gilded bronze made in France in the first quarter of the 19thC. One of the Greek muses with a star atop h...

A French Empire figurative clock of a Roman youth holding a scroll in gilded bronze showing a seated classically draped youth sitting atop the clock case holding a lyre in one hand a...

A gilt bronze French Empire clock depicting an allegory to the earth’s water source. In this clock a classically draped nymph sits atop a rocky outcrop her right foot resting on the ...

A late French Empire period mantel (fireplace) clock showing a seated Roman emperor in finely chased patinated bronze holding a sword in one hand and a Roman banner in the other. He ...

Finest quality period French Empire clock depicting a seated winged cupid holding a rose; the case in gilt and patinated bronze. The clock show a gilt cupid sitting cross legged on t...

French Empire gilt bronze clock French, early 19th century Measures: Height 38cm, width 27cm, depth 10cm This fine gilt bronze man...

Empire period gilt bronze figural clock representing Amour & Psyche.

Clock in chiselled and gilt bronze composed by a rectangular base on which stand the dial-plate and a statuette of Bacchus. Round dial-plate with Roman numbers off-center on the righ...

Modelled as a potted flower, the pot decorated with gilt bronze classical figures. With an 18th century English movement.

This truly stunning French mantel clock was crafted during the Empire period, and reflects the Neoclassical interests of the Emperor Napoleon I, whose influence over the decorative arts contributed toward a profound revival of beauties of the ancient empires. The mantel clock is crafted entirely in gilt bronze, and features a stepped base on four block feet. The base depicts a Classical relief panel to the front, showing female dancing figures and putti, as well as musical instruments. Surmounting the base is an arch featuring a central mask fountain and basin...

A gilt bronze Empire clock in the form of a classical urn, by Maison Lepautre. French, circa 1825. The dial signed 'Lepaute a Paris'. The clock has an ornate cast bezel with a 3-inch porcelain dial with Roman numerals and Breguet style hands. The twin train eight-day movement with outside count wheel striking on a bell and silk thread suspension. This elegant Empire style clock has a gilt bronze case in the form of a classical urn with swan neck handles and a winged cherub to the neck. The circular pedestal base is raised on a footed stepped square plinth. The Lepaute family were the premier French clockmakers of their day. Their significance lies in their contribution to the clock making industry which had hitherto come under the trade of locksmiths. The family held the brevet Horlogers du Roi. Jean-André Lepaute (1720–1789) arrived in Paris at an early age and in 1740 founded the family business. A skilled artist and mechanic, he quickly gained an excellent reputation. He was received as maître by the clockmakers guild in 1759, was granted royal lodgings from the king in The Luxembourg Palace, and was entrusted with the construction of the majority of the great public clocks of Paris. He executed, amongst others, those in The Luxembourg Palace, the Jardin des Plantes, the Château de Bellevue and the Château des Ternes. His clock at Paris’s École Militaire still works today. Three editions of his Traité d’Horlogerie were published in Paris in 1755, 1760 and 1767. A small volume, Description de Plusieurs Ouvrages d’Horlogerie appeared in 1764. Jean-André’s wife, Nicole-Reine Etable de la Brière (1723-1788), was a highly esteemed mathematician and astronomer. Her passion for science lent itself to Lepaute’s work and she played an active role in the scientific and mathematical aspects of the clock making. Jean-André’s younger brother Jean-Baptiste Lepaute (1727-1802) joined him in Paris in 1747 and immediately started working for the family business. He was received as maître in 1776 and was known for the clocks he constructed for the Paris Hôtel de Ville (1780), destroyed in a fire of 1871, and for the Hôtel des Invalides (1784). Jean-Baptiste took over the workshop when Jean-André retired in 1775. After Jean-Baptiste’s death in 1802, the firm was taken over by his nephew Pierre-Basil Lepaute (1750-1843) where he was duly joined by his own nephew Jean-Joseph (1768-1846) and son Pierre-Michel (1785-1849). By 1816, Pierre-Michel Lepaute was in charge of the business. His masterpieces include the astronomical clock in Paris’s Bureau...