Opulent French/Swiss Gilt Clock with Chimes and Porcelain Panels

A French/Swiss opulent gilt clock 19th century ormolu, mantel,…
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A French/Swiss opulent gilt clock 19th century ormolu, mantel, oval dome covered clock by Aubert & Klaftenberger, Geneve. Having chimes on the hour and half hour, movement probable Swiss origin. With a white enamelled dial and four enamelled porcelain panels. Decorated in a rococo style with grape vines, acanthus and cherub figures mounted on stylized columns. Having circular adjustable feet on an oval stepped base. Height without dome 44 cm. (needs service).

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  • 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.
  • Acanthus - A stylized leaf motif, one of the primary decorative elements of classical Greek and Roman architecture, derived from the genus of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Mediterranean area. It is a common element in classical Greek and Roman design, and is often seen in Corinthian and Composite order columns and used as a decorative element in English, European and Australian furniture, particularly on the curve of a leg, and as decoration for a corbel.

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