Tiffany & Co. France, c. 1900.

Historicist clock Tiffany & Co. France, c. 1900.
Gilt bronze, patinated bronze and carved white marble Hand-painted porcelain dial, enameled.
With Brocot suspension.
Signed on the dial: "Tiffany & Co.", signed on the movement: "Samuel Marti & Cie" and "Tiffany & Co.".
Preserves pendulum and key
Measurements: 66 x 70 x 20 cm; 10 x 80 x 28 cm (base).

This bronze and marble clock is an exceptional example of French neo-renaissance and historicism. It was probably made around 1900 in gilded and burnished bronze, patinated with marble base and vase. The design is predominantly characterized by the two patinated bronze figures on the sides flanking a large marble vase top. These represent day, the male figure, and night, the female figure. Both sculptures are iconographically identified because they follow the models of the sculptures created by Michelangelo Bounarroti for the New Sacristy of San Lorenzo in Florence. The volute arches on which the figures sit are also taken from this model, but here enriched with cornucopia reliefs. The marble base on gilded spindle feet is decorated with reliefs and a fabric festoon on the front; the lidded vase is placed on three trestle-like feet possessing pezyla form, the applied ram's heads are joined by festoons of ivy leaves, and the lid is surmounted by a gilded pine cone. The small sphere invites to enhance the sculptural value of the work, which has been conceived as an object where the artistic aspect prevails.

The machinery presents the signature of Samuel Martí et Cie. (act. 1841-1930), which as it was "founded by the French watchmaker Samuel Martí. It was based on the marketing of movements to which other manufacturers added dials and cases. From 1863 he collaborated with the brands Roux et Cie. and Japy Frères et Cie. He won several awards at exhibitions in Paris, including the bronze medal in 1860, silver in 1889 and gold in 1900" (These words appear in the catalogue card of a table clock with Samuel Marti machinery, Inv. No. CE19108, now part of the collection of the National Museum of Decorative Arts).