Fountain Clock Empire Period Noseda Marseille Claude Galle Gilded Bronze

A gilt bronze mantel clock with a fountain, Empire period, after Claude Galle. The mechanism is signed by Noseda in Marseille (Noseda Ane nephew). The base is decorated with seahorses ridden by cupids, and in the center, the figure of Neptune intertwined with a paddle and a rudder. The mantel, into which the movement is inserted, is decorated with a boss featuring a semi-circular niche containing a fountain. The spandrels are ornated with scorpions and Egyptian female masks. Two dolphins are positioned against the mantel. A model with a chariot of Venus is mentioned in Claude Galle's inventory, "Venus in a Shell," in 1815, after the bronze caster's death. The base of the chariot clock is identical to this model. Circa 1810Mechanism to be revisedLiterature: Vergoldete Bronzen – die Bronzearbeiten des Spätbarock und Klassizismus, Hans Ottomeyer/Peter Pröschel, p.371 fig. 5.13.17Encyclopedia of French clocks, Pierre Kjellberg, p.377 #BFrench Bronze Clocks, Elke Niehüser, p.242 #939Dictionary of French watchmakers, Tardy, p.490