Bronze Elephant Clock with Girl and Grapes

A French bronze and ormolu elephant clock, 19th century, the…
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A French bronze and ormolu elephant clock, 19th century, the enamelled dial with Roman hours and Arabic minutes, signed 'Costain a Paris / Galerie de la Madeleine', eight-day movement striking on a bell, surmounted by a young girl holding a bunch of grapes on the bronzed elephant's back, the base composed of rocaille scrolls and flower heads. Height 51 cm

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  • Bronze - An alloy of copper and tin, traditionally in the proportions of about 9 parts of copper to 1 part of tin.

    The discovery of bronze in Western Asia in the 4th century enabled people to create metal objects which were superior to those previoulsy possible because of its strength and hardness, and it has been used throughout the world for weapons, coins, tools, statuary and other decorative items.

    It is very fluid in a molten state, and its hardness, strength when set, and non-corrosive properties makes it most suitable for casting sculpture.
  • Movement - The technical name for the workings of a clock or watch, and does not include the dial or case.
  • Ormolu - Ormolu was popular with French craftsmen in the 18th and 19th century for ornamental fittings for furniture, clocks and other decorative items. True ormolu is gilt bronze, that is bronze that has been coated with gold using a mercury amalgam. Due to the health risks associated with using mercury, this method of creating ormolu was discontinued in France in the 1830s. A substitute was developed consisting of about 75% copper and 25% zinc, however it was inferior to the bronze version. It was often lacquered to prevent it tarnishing.

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