IMPORTANT LOUIS XVI PORTICO CLOCK WITH WEDGWOOD DECOR

Large Louis XVI period portico clock in white marble, gilt bronze and blue earthenware in the Wedgwood style. The two posts are decorated with chased and gilt bronze motifs representing griffins, acanthus leaves, rosettes and vases overflowing with flowers with goat's feet as well as blue porcelain medallions with white decoration in the style of the Wedgwood manufacture with scenes representing two women draped in the antique style with a dog for one and a bird for the other. The two posts are surmounted by medallions with openwork bronze plant frames containing mythological scenes of abductions: Psyche taken by Favonius (Zephyr in Greek) and Proserpine by Pluto. The top is in the form of a flowering urn with two handles with women's heads and a chain. The white enamel dial has Arabic numerals for the hours and quarters. It is finished with a half-crown of oak and laurel leaves and music trophies. The hour hand is decorated with a star. The clock is in the shape of an Apollo's head. The rectangular white marble base rests on four small toupie feet.

The Wedgwood earthenware and porcelain factory was founded in 1759 by Josiah Wedgwood. One of the largest producers of British pottery, it specialized in the creation of earthenware in unglazed jaspered paste, most often tinted pale blue, covered with bas-relief applications of white earthenware. These cameo-style decorations are inspired by the taste for antiquity resulting from Greek and Roman archaeological discoveries. Of the finest quality, these pieces are often compared to porcelain by collectors.

Louis XVI period

Circa: 1790
Dim: L: 35cm, P: 14cm, H: 57cm.
Dim: W: 13,8in, D: 5,5in, H: 22,4in.
Condition report: In good condition. Minor restoration to dial level. The movement has been cleaned, repaired and is in working order.