Tenderness And Fidelity - Neoclassical Pendulum In Porcelain, Bronze And Marble. Circa 1860

Louis XVI Style Alcove or Boudoir Clock in Sèvres porcelain and chiseled gilt bronze with an allegorical subject of "Tenderness and Fidelity". Oval shaped base with projection in white marble embellished in rectangular reserves hemmed with beaded openwork sconces in gilded bronze chiselled with foliage and flowery interlacing. Rests on six spinning top legs crafted from lanceolate leaves. Circular white enameled dial with Arabic numerals for hours and minutes, signed "Bisson /Paris". Parisian work from the second half of the 19th century, based on models from the Louis XVI period, created during the years 1770-1785 by the Sculptor-Bronzier François Vion (1737-1790). Crossed by the undeniable refinement of the Louis XVI style, this watchpiece boasting great formal elegance is undoubtedly in the wake of the models developed in the last third of the 18th century, in particular by the bronzier François Vion (1737-1790) . Like his counterpart, the sculptor Etienne-Maurice Falconnet (1716-1791), he took pleasure in orchestrating, in suave creations treated with serious grace, the neoclassical ornamental repertoire of rigor in the 1770s-1780s and subjects drawn from the Fable Ancient gallant or relating to Love. A very tasty theme of the aristocratic society of the reign of Louis XVI appreciating, in the gentle intimacy of his Boudoirs, statuettes, small sculpted groups evoking through seductive allegorical figures the various forms of the feeling of love. Like its centuries-old references, the body of the clock is organized around a truncated column made of porcelain with grooves surrounded by gold highlights and alternately coated with Bleu de Sèvres and white. Set at its base with a gilded bronze molding decorated with quartefeuilles centered with flowers, it is surrounded at the top by a sumptuous falling drapery with fringes on which a pair of doves (symbol of shared love, from The Hymen ) sports tenderly. Embellished with feminine ribbon bows, flower garlands and myrtle branches envelop the white enameled dial of the clock inscribed, just like its movement, in the porcelain piece. Circled on its bezel with a double string of pearls, it indicates the hours and minutes in Arabic numerals. It bears the signature of "Bisson/Paris" - for Louis-Pierre Bissson, a Parisian watchmaker established until 1812 rue de Vaugirard who was to be succeeded by Jean Lambert, still active in the 1860s (Tardy, Dictionnaire des Horlogers Français, 1971, p. 59, p.346). first watchmaker cited. Represented, one standing, the other seated, two allegorical figures in gilded bronze frame the column designed like a marital altar. Leaning slightly forward, crowning with her right hand the wise pair of doves, a young woman draped in a flowing tunic revealing her slender forms, presents in a welcoming gesture pomegranate seeds (symbol of fertility) coiled in the hollow of his other hand. Resting on a cornucopia, a cute Cupid observes, amused, a little dog, standing on its hind legs, pretending to be attracted by the delicious bait. Treated with the most seductive grace, these figures respectively symbolize Tenderness and Fidelity, two feelings conducive to the perpetuation of sincere Love. This entire composition, allegorical in scope, is based on an oval base with molded white marble projections. Framed with pearls, openwork sconces in gilded bronze chiseled with foliage interlacing centered with flowers adorn it in rectangular reserves on all its sides. Six spinning tops crafted from lanceolate leaves complete the elegant arrangement of the clock. Note the very careful character of its reverse: a large rectangular flap set with a thread of spokes is substituted for the more common circular flap. With great finesse in execution and design, our timepiece is to be placed among the beautiful achievements of the Louis XVI spirit of the second half of the 19th century. Materials: Chiseled gilded bronze; porcelain with a white and blue background called “Sèvres” and gold highlights; White marble; glass and gold metal. Dimensions: H.: 38 cm ;-L.:; 27 cm - Pr.: 17 cm. High quality Parisian work from the second half of the 19th century, circa 1860.