Perron, Paris - Fireplace Ornament Depicting Warrior Love. Early 20th Century

PERRON, Bronze Maker in Paris - Harmoniously composed, this very pleasing mantel clock set, elegantly combining gilded chased bronze with the moiré effect of polished green Campan marble, comprises three beautifully crafted pieces. Namely: - a charming mantel clock, its iconographic motifs reflecting the ancestral and appealing theme of Love as Warrior / Love Victorious over Time. With its refined Louis XV style, this clock, adorned on its violin-shaped case with delicate undulating Rococo ornamental motifs (clasps, finials, fleurons, scrolls, acanthus leafy volutes and scrolls; shells with wavy edges, imbricated scales), is embellished on the front with a Cornucopia surrounded by delicate pastoral blossoms. Chiseled in high relief, animated mascarons with the radiant face of Boreas and the mischievous visages of bearded Satyrs (an allusion to Priapus)—respective evocations of the gentle breath of spring and the passions associated with this joyful season—circle the dial, which is further embellished with drapery, flanking the body of the clock. At its base, resting on a molded die, is a trophy of sentimental significance, uniting amorous attributes (a torch, a quiver fletched with arrows) and martial ones (a helmet with a plumed crest, a wreath of laurel or myrtle). Echoing this, festooning its marble base and centered with a lion's head, is a lion's pelt—an allusion to the Nemean Lion, a symbol of power. In this particular timepiece, it represents the all-powerful force of warrior Love defying Time. Featuring an openwork flap with a quatrefoil rosette motif on its back, this clock, with its refined silhouette and craftsmanship, stands on four short baluster feet ringed with gadroons. Its white enamel dial indicates the hours and minutes in Roman and Arabic numerals, indicated by two pierced gilt metal fleur-de-lis hands. It is signed by the bronze furniture maker "PERRON," active in Paris at "11 Boulevard Montmartre" during the last third of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. A pair of matching ornamental vases: Baluster-shaped, each vase, like the clock, displays on its shoulder, on its faceted, ovoid body, the playful masks of Satyrs, the smiling face of Boreas—here doubled and with a passementerie lambrequin around its chin. The design is balanced, with imbricated scales. Acanthus finials and florets nestled in reserves, acanthus leaves combined with lanceolate leaves forming a corolla on their finials, adorn them. With a sober profile punctuated by a ribboned reed, friezes with cabochon motifs, and gadroons, they are also mounted on a molded, quadrangular marble base with a similar foot. Characteristic of the beautifully sophisticated eclectic style adopted in French decorative arts at the turn of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, this harmonious clockwork ensemble, placed under auspicious auspices, captivates with its ornamental restraint as well as its formal elegance. A model that is both discreet and pleasingly present. __________ Marks and signatures: Dial signed: "Perron / A Paris / 11, Bd Montmartre" - Movement numbered on the plate "3030" associated with a stamp with the intertwined initials "AC". Watchmaker's stamp: "Samuel Marti / Medal "d'Or / Paris 1900" Materials: Green Campan marble; gilt bronze; enamel and glass. Dimensions: Clock: Total height: 38 cm; Width: 18.5 cm; Depth: 13.5 cm - Cassette: Height: 29 cm; Width: cm. Parisian work in an eclectic style from the late 19th-early 20th century. Circa 1900. Very good overall condition. Minor wear to the gilding.