Antique French Gilt Bronze Rococo Clock

19th century

Sold by Dragon-Antiques.com

Description

~ French - Circa 1880 ~

~~ Excellent condition, fully overhauled ~~

A lovely antique French clock by Louis Japy and retailed by Maison Henri Riondet of Paris, boldly modelled in the Rococo style in gilded bronze. Waisted keyhole shape profusely decorated with 'C' scrolls, and acanthus. To the top is an elaborate asymmetric finial.

The dial is the sought after cream porcelain enamel with blue lettering and is complete with original finely fretted gilt hands and Rococo bezel.

The French movement is by Louis Japy and is in excellent clean and running condition having been fully overhauled by our clockmaker. Pendulum is original. It runs for 8 days and strikes the hours and halves on a bell. Click the video clip below to hear the bell and watch the clock running.

According to an advertisement in the 1896 issue of Didot-Bottin (directory and almanac for commerce, industry, judicial and civil services) the Maison H. Riondet, Comptoir General, a retailer, was one of ‘the most well-stocked shops for everything from: jewellery, bronze art objects, timepieces & furniture, precious stones, marble sculptures, silverware, ceiling lights & white metal, chandeliers, cutlery, lamps & diamond-facetted fireplaces, travel clocks, “fine-stone” pearls.’ It boasted ‘factory prices’ and ‘retail stores in Paris with no other branches, representatives, or offices in any other city, French or foreign.’ Maison H. Riondet was located at 9, boulevard Poissonnière and 45, rue du Sentier in Paris. The 1911 Annuaire de la Curiosité et des Beaux-Arts, a directory of curiosities and fine art, shows that the retailer was a member of the bronze manufacturing trade union.

Intersecting the grand Parisian boulevards, the Comptoir Général was located on the royal route, which under the Second Empire already connected the Madeleine to the Gymnase Theatre. The retailer figured among the great Parisian stores of the late nineteenth-century, providing “free entry” to customers. Strolling from the Place de la Madeleine to the Café des Variétés on Boulevard Montmartre, elegant crowds stopped to admire the store’s display windows, stocked in an abundant and spectacular manner.

The Comptoir Général was contemporary with other great department stores of the period, like the Grands Magasins du Louvre, Bon Marché, and La Samaritaine, and attested to the new forms of commerce developing during the second half of the nineteenth century. These stores became showcases; advertising in newspapers, they offered the consumer a diverse and varied product, displayed in a way that was elaborate and luxurious.

Louis Japy clockmaker's mark on the movement backplate along with the mark of retailer Maison Henri Riondet on the backplate and dial

Condition of the case is excellent, beautifully clean and bright with hardly any wear or discolouration and there are no losses. The dial is also in excellent condition just some tiny nibbles to the winding holes.

Complete with pendulum, bell and a suitable key. Full setting up instructions supplied if required.

Dimensions of clock: inches: Height 15 1/4", Width 9", Depth 5 1/2"

centimetres: Height 38.5 cm, Width 23 cm, Depth 14 cm

Shipping within UK £25

Shipping to USA / Europe £65 by air fully insured

World wide shipping - £85 by air fully insured

Physical Dimensions

Height

38.5cm (15.16")

Width

23cm (9.06")

Depth

14cm (5.51")

Declaration

Dragon-Antiques.com has dated this piece to the 1880s.

Reference Numbers

Sellingantiques Reference

SA606183

Dealers Internal Reference

RSC3096

Dealers Notes

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World wide shipping by air fully insured. Please see our website for more pictures and video - http://www.Dragon-Antiques.com

Description

~ French - Circa 1880 ~

~~ Excellent condition, fully overhauled ~~

“

A lovely antique French clock by Louis Japy and retailed by Maison Henri Riondet of Paris, boldly modelled in the Rococo style in gilded bronze.

Dragon-Antiques.com

Waisted keyhole shape profusely decorated with 'C' scrolls, and acanthus. To the top is an elaborate asymmetric finial.

fig 1. Antique French Gilt Bronze Rococo Clock

The dial is the sought after cream porcelain enamel with blue lettering and is complete with original finely fretted gilt hands and Rococo bezel.

The French movement is by Louis Japy and is in excellent clean and running condition having been fully overhauled by our clockmaker. Pendulum is original. It runs for 8 days and strikes the hours and halves on a bell. Click the video clip below to hear the bell and watch the clock running.

fig 2. Antique French Gilt Bronze Rococo Clock

According to an advertisement in the 1896 issue of Didot-Bottin (directory and almanac for commerce, industry, judicial and civil services) the Maison H. Riondet, Comptoir General, a retailer, was one of ‘the most well-stocked shops for everything from: jewellery, bronze art objects, timepieces & furniture, precious stones, marble sculptures, silverware, ceiling lights & white metal, chandeliers, cutlery, lamps & diamond-facetted fireplaces, travel clocks, “fine-stone” pearls.’ It boasted ‘factory prices’ and ‘retail stores in Paris with no other branches, representatives, or offices in any other city, French or foreign.’ Maison H. Riondet was located at 9, boulevard Poissonnière and 45, rue du Sentier in Paris. The 1911 Annuaire de la Curiosité et des Beaux-Arts, a directory of curiosities and fine art, shows that the retailer was a member of the bronze manufacturing trade union.

fig 3. Antique French Gilt Bronze Rococo Clock

Intersecting the grand Parisian boulevards, the Comptoir Général was located on the royal route, which under the Second Empire already connected the Madeleine to the Gymnase Theatre. The retailer figured among the great Parisian stores of the late nineteenth-century, providing “free entry” to customers. Strolling from the Place de la Madeleine to the Café des Variétés on Boulevard Montmartre, elegant crowds stopped to admire the store’s display windows, stocked in an abundant and spectacular manner.

fig 4. Antique French Gilt Bronze Rococo Clock

The Comptoir Général was contemporary with other great department stores of the period, like the Grands Magasins du Louvre, Bon Marché, and La Samaritaine, and attested to the new forms of commerce developing during the second half of the nineteenth century. These stores became showcases; advertising in newspapers, they offered the consumer a diverse and varied product, displayed in a way that was elaborate and luxurious.

fig 5. Antique French Gilt Bronze Rococo Clock

Louis Japy clockmaker's mark on the movement backplate along with the mark of retailer Maison Henri Riondet on the backplate and dial

Condition of the case is excellent, beautifully clean and bright with hardly any wear or discolouration and there are no losses. The dial is also in excellent condition just some tiny nibbles to the winding holes.