Portico Mantel Clock Empire-style From The Napoléon III Period

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Elegant Napoléon III portico mantel clock, made around 1860, in blackened wood veneer and richly adorned with gilt bronze. Its movement, stamped “Japy Frère”, is referenced in Tardy’s renowned Dictionnaire des horlogers français, adding further interest to this elegant creation. The blackened veneer has been finished with traditional French pad polishing, providing remarkable depth of colour, a beautiful lustre and lasting protection, while enhancing the spectacular contrast between the black case and the brilliance of the gilt bronze.

Architecturally designed, the clock rests on a substantial moulded rectangular base, richly decorated on the front with gilt-bronze foliage scrolls, volutes and rocaille motifs arranged around a central cartouche. Four cylindrical columns in blackened wood structure the composition, each resting on a square gilt-bronze base and topped with finely chased capitals decorated with fluting, friezes and vegetal motifs. The whole is surmounted by an imposing stepped entablature, highlighted by a broad moulded cornice and architectural finial. At the centre is the circular white enamel dial with black Roman numerals, surrounded by a spectacular gilt-bronze frame of animated contours, richly sculpted with foliage, shells, scrolls and acanthus-like motifs. The finely pierced gilt hands complete the composition with elegance. Beneath the dial is the pendulum, itself richly ornamented, featuring a remarkable openwork lyre and a central medallion decorated with a multi-pointed star, forming a true focal point of the composition.

Through its architecture, the quality of its gilt-bronze decoration and the particularly successful combination of blackened wood and gold, this clock possesses an exceptional decorative presence. Its aesthetic, both restrained in its architectural lines and sumptuous in the treatment of its ornaments, perfectly illustrates the refined taste of the Second Empire for compositions inspired by Antiquity and enriched with an exuberant decorative vocabulary. The authenticity of its structure, the remarkable preservation of its veneer and gilt bronzes, together with the quality of its movement stamped “Japy Frère”, make it a particularly appealing piece for the discerning collector. A clock of great character, elegant yet spectacular, whose striking contrast between the deep black of the veneer and the luminous richness of the gilt bronze gives it a remarkable presence in any interior.

Original movement, without modification, striking the hours and half-hours on an antique bell.