Empire Mantel Clocks

French Empire Ormolu and marble vert mantel clock of Cupid whispering. Wonderful original fire gilded mercury ormolu. The quality of the casting and chasing is superb, from the indiv...

Fine and rare French Empire ormolu clock of Cupid as magician, uncovering flaming hearts with the 3 cup trick. The shaped base with four tal...

In the form of a putto with a wheel barrow carrying a keg mounted with a clock face topped by a crane, on a rectangular chased plinth ending in bun feet.

French Empire patinated bronze and ormolu vase clock. Of unusual design set as it is on a spread ormolu base of eight sides, the front and back being long sides. The base sits upon f...

French Empire pendulum clock finely crafted of gilt bronze, featuring a young spinner wearing a classical dress, seating on the dial near a lyre ...

A fine example of a French Empire period mantle clock, circa 1830. The rectangular stepped case is made of yellow Sienna marble and is decorated on the top and bottom with patinated ...

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...

French Empire miniature ormolu clock of Cupid signed by Ledure and Thomas. A small French Empire clock only 10 inches (25 cms high) but of outstanding quality. A figure of Cupid stan...

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 wonderful French Empire doré and patinated bronze Cherub Putti wreath clock, not currently in working order, back cover is missing as is bel...

A Louis XVI ormolu-mounted black and white marble mantel clock by Thiéry, Paris. Thiery Paris, late 18th century. The drumcase con...

Beautiful patinated bronze clock featuring Cupid and Psyche with a Sienna marble base

A 19th century French gilt-bronze and white marble figural lyre clock. The case mounted with floral swags, with a figure of Cupid to the top and two cherubs to the sides, on fluted r...

19th century French Empire style portico clock. This e Empire style clock features Carrara marble, bevelled glass, bronze accents and a crystal r...

French Empire style bronze mantel clock.

A French Antique Empire Gilt Bronze Silk Thread Mantel Clock The neoclassical theme with a lady and a mandolin.The clock retains its original blued steel Breguet style hands. The ...

A very large and impressive 19th century Empire style gilt and patinated bronze malachite mantel clock depicting 'Psyche Crowning Cupid.' Psyche crown...

Depicting a young woman seated at a table holding a book and looking at a celestial globe, above the central dial signed 'Gaston Jolly Paris' and flanked by two busts.

An Empire ormolu and painted bronze mantel clock attributed to Jean-Simon Deverberie. Fitted in an ormolu case shaped as a cotton bale, the round enamel dial features Roman numeral h...

Italian neoclassical parcel-gilt clock. Roman military Empire period mantel clock of obelisk form topped by an extraordinary eagle with outstretched wings on a red orb, above gilt-ca...

Exceptional gilt bronze mantel clock with its key depicting a winged Cupid in a chariot. The chariot is pulled by two doves that are resting on a platform adorned with water-leaf. Th...

Early 19th century French Empire period gilt bronze figural clock. Free shipping within the United States and Canada.

French Empire clock garniture with gilt bronze and Baccarat crystal. An important French Baccarat cut-crystal and ormolu mantel clock with four Corinthian style columns. The cut-crystal features a cross hatched diamond patterns throughout. The clock comes with two large Baccarat crystal and gilt...

Early 19th century French Empire period marble and ormolu clock. French Carrara marble Portico clock with extensive ormolu fretwork mounted on two finely decorated marble columns ...

19th century French Empire style fire gilded bronze mantel clock. French fire gilded bronze mantel clock with separate bronze base and po...

18th century Viennese dark green painted and giltwood pendule of unusual size in the form of a classical urn, the gilt-bronze dial with Roman numerals, surmounted by giltwood flowers...

Antique French Empire Style Slate and Malachite Clock with Broken Arch Crest and Doric Columns, 19thC Measures- 14.5''H x 8.25''W x 3.5''D

Pendule Portefaix France (Toulouse) bronze, enamel Empire around 1810 Dimensions: H x W x D: 36 x 28 x 11 cm Description: Beautiful fire-gilded and patinated bronze pendulum from the early 19th century. Depicted is a young man carrying a large cotton package on his back. In his right hand he holds a letter, with his left he is leaning on a bamboo stick. His tobacco pipe is stuck in his hat string, and he carries his water bottle on his belt. In interesting color contrast is not only the fire gilding to the deep black patinated bronze, but also particularly striking are the white glass eyes. The ciselleur has managed to make materials tangible through different surface treatments. For example, the skin is discreetly hatched differently from the cotton fabric of the trousers; the bottle, bracelets and pannier are polished in gold. The proportions of the figure are perfectly struck, and the drapery on the trousers emphasizes the dynamic movement. The heart of the watch is an 8-day movement with date from the Prevost Freres workshop, which is attested in Toulouse from 1809. The Breguet hands are blued, the pendulum is suspended on a thread, typical of the time. The clock strikes a bell on the half and full hour. Fun Facts: The depiction of Le Portefaix is by Parisian bronze caster Jean-André Reiche, who registered his artistic design in Paris in 1808. In addition to the depiction of the cotton picker, there are numerous other pendulums that deal with the theme of colonization. Other themes from the "new world" were also treated artistically - exotic animals and plants - butterflies, birds of paradise, tobacco and spices.... Today's viewers react to the objects with both fascination and irritation. Enthusiastic on the one hand by the obvious quality of the detailed bronzes, on the other hand distanced-cautious because of the possible discrimination that is suspected behind it. The ambivalence of this feeling motivates the search for the conditions of origin of these pendulums. Europeans found their new ideal of the natural man mainly in fictional and realistic travelogues about the Indians of North America...

Empire Pendule, Mantel clock cupid and Psyche Paris Fire-gilt bronze Around 1820 Dimensions: 36 x 27 x15 cm Description: Depiction designed ...

Antique French 1st Empire pendulum clock fire gilded bronze. Attributed to Pierre-Philippe Thomire. Depicting Laura de Noves Laura was the wife of Count Hugues de Sade. She married in the year 1325 at the age of 15. Laura had a great influence on the life and work of the Italian Poet Fransesco Petrarca. He sang about her in his work Il Canzoniere The fineness of the casting and the original fire gilding and varied chasing show the highest quality. Like almost all pendulums of this period it isn't signed. The quality , the bronze work, the composition, the gilding and the chasing allow to consider Pierre-Philippe Thomire (1751 - 1843) as maker. Origin France about 1810 - 1820. An identical clock was part of the the Louvre collection...

Temple clock of French origin, Paris city, Empire era, silk thread mechanism. Bardiglio gray marble. With capitals in gilded bronze. Functioning and over...