"The Source" Gilt bronze Clock attr. to L. Messagé & F.Linke, France, circa 1890

Dial signed Polti Frères Measures: With base or glass: Height 61 cm (24 in.), width 51,5 cm (20.3 in.), depth 23.5 cm (9,2 in.) Without base: Height 52 cm (20,5 in.), width 42 cm (16.5 in.), depth 12.5 cm (4.9 in.) Important philhellenic clock in burnished and amati gilded bronze, finely chiseled, representing on the terrace a couple elegantly dressed in "the turkish style", and richly decorated with foliage, scrolls and flowers. The feet, decorated with water leaves, rest on an oval wooden base covered with a globe. The theme of the clock comes from The Giaour, a fragment of a Turkish Tale, an English poem by Lord Byron published in may 1813 which tells the thwarted love of a Venetian, the Giaour – term by which the Turks designate infidels and especially Christians – and of Leila, a slave belonging to Hassan’s seraglio, military leader of a Turkish province. The betrayal of Leila discovered, she will be thrown into the sea and her lover will avenge her by killing Hassan, then taking refuge in a monastery. Symbol of prestige and modernity, the decorative clocks are a reflection of the taste of the era of a wealthy bourgeoisie and may be the subject of diplomatic gifts or between individuals. Beyond the purely decorative aspect of such objects, watchmaking in the 19th century is part of a subtle mix of political, historical and literary references. This philhellenic movement converning the West finds a particular echo in France, one of the countries with the United Kingdom and Russia having suported the Greeks during their war of independance (1821-1830) to free oneself from the grip of the Ottoman Empire. Many clocks...

Large and rare Louis XVI style cage clock in chiseled and gilded bronze, rectangular in shape, highlighted with friezes of water leaves and pearls, with glass panels decorated with t...

Antiques 19th Century French Rococo-style gilt-bronze mantle clock crafted by Raingo Frères. The clock boasts intricate decoration throughout, with birds resting on floral foliage ad...

A Monumental 19th Century Regency Style Gilt-Bronze Inlaid Grand Cartel de Applique, In the Manner of André-Charles Boulle. This impressive and large cartel clock has a circular, arabesque chased, brass dial with Roman numerals on enamelled cartouches, with engraved seconds and steel hands. The rear of the clock is open cased. The dial sits within a waisted case, with large acanthus mounted gilt-bronze volutes, surmounted by a palmette mascaron and a figure of Jupiter as a child and an enamel cartouche signed ‘Thuret A PARIS’. It is supported on large foliate mounted scrolls and decorated to the sides with Boulle marquetry panels and lion mask mounts. An eighteenth-century version of this clock by ‘Mynuel A Paris’ (Maitre 1720) is illustrated by Tardy in ‘La Pendule Francaise’, 1ere partie, p. 141. Initially conceived by C. Cressent, the design was further refined by A.C. Boulle before being embraced by J.J. de Saint-Germain. The earliest examples of this distinctive style bear the signature of clockmaker J. III Thuret. Only a handful of identical specimens of this model are known to exist. One such identical piece resides in the Frick Collection in New York, originating from the Dalva Brothers...