Rare crystal and gilt bronze portico clock... - Lot 65 - Artenchères

Rare crystal and gilt bronze portico clock with rich decoration. Capital and base in cut crystal with round ribs and notched pilasters; the capital decorated with two gilt bronze cornices, one with metopes, palmette frieze and frieze of eggs, the second with heart stripes; the base on a gilt bronze base chiselled with a frieze of water leaves; four notched gilt bronze coil feet. The movement is framed by four columns in cut crystal with notched, twisted ribs; Corinthian capitals in chased and gilded bronze and bases chased with an antique crown. The chased and gilded bronze dial with Roman numerals on a guilloché background is bordered by a frieze of heart stripes and a circle of acanthus leaves; bronze and cut crystal balance with a radiating motif. Restoration period. Height 54 cm, width 25 cm, depth 17 cm. (Protective glass globe and key. A few chips on the balance crystal, a slightly off-centre column to be replaced, a few slight jumps of enamel on the dial. For more information, please do not hesitate to contact us.) Provenance : in the family of a private individual from Lyon since the 19th century. On the origin of the crystal of very beautiful quality used for this clock: there is every reason to believe that it comes from the factories of Baccarat or Montcenis. The crystal factory of Montcenis follows the crystal factory of Sèvres, created in 1783 and transferred near Le Creusot in 1787. In spite of a high quality production, the factory is bought back in 1832 by Baccarat and Saint-Louis, who definitively shut down the furnaces in order to reduce competition. The creation of the Baccarat crystal factory in 1816 was itself the result of the transfer of part of the production of the crystal factory in Vonèche (Belgium), the largest factory in the French Empire, whose trade was affected by the establishment, in 1814, of a border between France and Belgium. The Vonèche and Baccarat crystal works supplied the crystals to the major bran