Pendulum clock; Empire period, ca. 1810

Pendulum clock; Empire period, ca. 1810.
Gilded bronze.
Presents loss of the pendulum and the machinery needs to be reworked.
Measurements: 43 x 20 x 13 cm.

Clock in gilded bronze mercury with enameled porcelain dial. A citada stands as the protagonist of the set, stringed instrument associated in ancient Greece to the god Apollo, in whose center the dial is housed. It is flanked by a pair of swans, while on the plinth are reproduced motifs characteristic of the Empire period, such as fingered palmettes or scallops, which are reminiscent of the Louis XVI style, immediately preceding.

Mercury gilding, before its prohibition in the mid-19th century due to its high toxicity, was the most colorful and elegant technique used in the gilders' workshops of Napoleonic France. When the pieces, after passing through the foundry and the chiseler's workshop, reached the gilder, an amalgam of gold and mercury was applied to them. Before, however, the piece was bathed in mercury nitrate, which, on contact with the zinc, oxidized the metal and exposed the characteristic red stains that can sometimes be seen on the backs. Finally, the piece went to the furnace at 300 or 400 degrees, where the mercury evaporated and the gold remained adhered to the bronze.