Louis Philippe clock. France, c. 1835

Louis Philippe clock. France, c. 1835
Mercury gilt bronze and patinated bronze. Hand-painted porcelain dial, enameled.
With silk thread pendulum suspension.
Signed on the machinery
With wear and faults on the dial.
Measurements: 48 x 31,5 x 10 cm.

Table clock, made of gilded bronze and conceived as a free-standing sculpture standing on an elaborate stepped pedestal. The base is prismatic, with smooth edges that reveal the Empire heritage, with "S" turned feet with chiseled details. Above it rises the upper level, again prismatic, of clean geometric shapes that is decorated with relief in the central area and palmettes on the sides. As a finial we see a sculpture depicting Napoleon on his horse, commemorating the moment when he crosses the Alps.

We can understand the Louis Phillipe style as an eclectic period of transition from the heavy and sumptuous forms of the Empire to the historicism and industrialization of Napoleon III. Still with an artistic will and good taste towards beautiful ornamentation, whose purpose was to make the rooms of the growing bourgeoisie more comfortable, there is a concern for aesthetics, fine finishes, monumentality and brilliant gilding.