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

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

This pendulum clock was manufactured 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 foot of the case. Above the sphinxes, just below the dial, there is a gilded bronze ornament with swans and floral motifs. The sober mahogany case has a door at the back providing access to the movement and the pendulum. The case rests on four gilded brass ball feet.

The round enamel dial has a fine ring with Roman numerals and an Arabic quarter-hour division. The whole is protected by a domed glass placed in a guilloché gilded brass ring. The dial is signed Colin à Paris. In the archives of Parisian watchmaking, such as the standard work Dictionnaire des Horlogers Français by Tardy, the independent watchmaker 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 own hand are relatively rare and cherished by collectors of early 19th-century French horology.