Table clock - Colin Paris Empire - Mahogany - 1800-1850

This beautiful mantel clock is a refined example of French craftsmanship, where functionality was combined with artistic expression.

This clock was produced during the French Empire, in the first quarter of the 19th century.

As a result of Napoleon's campaign in Egypt, there arose a renewed interest in classical antiquity. This is reflected in the two high-quality gilded bronze sphinxes in the niches at the base of the case. Above the sphinxes, below the dial, there is a gilded bronze ornament with swans and floral motifs.

The sober mahogany case has a rear door that provides access to the movement and the pendulum. The case rests on four gilded brass ball feet.

The round enameled dial has a fine ring of numerals with Roman hour numerals and Arabic quarter-hour divisions. The whole is protected by a glass dome placed in a guilloché gilded brass ring. The dial is signed Colin à Paris.

In the archives of Parisian clockmaking, such as the standard work Dictionnaire des Horlogers Français by Tardy, the independent clockmaker Colin is listed as a craftsman active during the Directory (1795–1799), the Consulate (1799–1804), and the Empire period (1804–1815). His workshop was presumably located on Rue du Bac on the banks of the Seine. Because Colin was an independent master and did not produce on a large scale, his authentic pieces by his hand are relatively rare and cherished by collectors of early 19th-century French clockmaking.