table/fireplace clock Louis XVI - Gilt bronze - 1850-1900

Gilded bronze table/fireplace clock - Japy Frères movement – France, 19th century

Description
Elegant French table or mantel clock, made of gilded bronze, equipped with a movement signed by Japy Frères, one of the most important and recognized French watchmaking manufacturers of the 19th century.
The case features a slender architectural structure, with fluted columns, leaf motifs, scrolls, and openwork, resting on a shaped base with wavy feet. The upper part is adorned with an elegant finial with floral motifs and symmetrical scrolls, which add verticality and a strong stage presence to the whole.
The white enamel circular dial is decorated with black Roman numerals for the hours and an outer minute track with Arabic numerals. The finely pierced golden hands are original and consistent with the period. The clock can be attributed to the French decorative repertoire inspired by Louis XVI / Napoleon III, with chased surfaces and gilding that confer brightness and solemnity to the overall appearance. Inside, the original mechanical movement by Japy Frères is housed, with the brand clearly visible, a feature that guarantees quality construction, reliability, and collector's significance.
The presence of the Japy Frères signature allows for a reliable dating to the second half of the 19th century, a period during which the manufacturer supplied numerous Parisian bronziers and watchmakers.

Technical specifications
Type: table clock / fireplace clock
Production: France
Manufacture of the movement: Japy Frères
Period: second half of the 19th century (circa 1860–1880)
Movement: mechanical, hand-wound
Exhaust: at anchor
Ringtone: hours and half hours on the bell.
Charge: double (time and chime)
Dial: white enamel with Roman numerals.
Hands: made of gold-colored metal, perforated.
Missing pendulum
Box: cast and chiseled bronze.
Finish: mercury gilding (partially preserved)
Dial protection: front cover with domed glass.
Hallmark: a punch with a medal and star on the movement, typical of 19th-century French production.
Operation: not recently tested, sold as per photographic documentation.
Dimensions: 27x11x50h cm; weight 5.397 kg

Movement
French mechanical watch with manual winding, anchor escapement, and striking mechanism on the hours and half-hours (on a bell).
On the back of the movement, the punch with medal and star is visible, typical of French manufacturers from the second half of the nineteenth century, along with the impressed numbering, an element consistent with Parisian productions intended for the bourgeois and aristocratic markets.
The movement appears complete; the functioning has not been tested recently.

Materials
Cast and chased bronze, mercury gilding (residual, with a natural patina of age), enamel dial, original domed glass.

Conditions
General conditions are consistent with the age of the object. Present are: wear and thinning of the gilding, especially on protruding parts, a uniform and pleasing antique patina, normal signs of age on the base and inside the case, a well-preserved enamel dial with a visible mark in the photograph. No evident structural damages are reported. The object is unrestored, preserved in an authentic state. The pendulum is missing.

Historical insight – Japy Frères
La Japy Frères, founded at the end of the 18th century, was one of the most important French industrial entities in the field of watchmaking.
In the 19th century, it became the leading supplier of movements for table clocks, fireplace clocks, and pendulums, collaborating with numerous Parisian bronziers and playing a decisive role in the spread of French clocks across Europe.

Shipping
Accurate shipping with professional packaging, with particular attention to movement and decorative elements. International shipping with tracking available.