Dragon-Antiques.com has dated this piece to the 1850s.
~~ Excellent condition, fully overhauled ~~
A beautiful early clock by the famous bronze founder Charpentier of Paris. It features two Putti, one playing the pipes and one holding a dove, emblematic of love. Both are finely modelled in bronze with a lovely antique patina. They are seated on an ormolu and marble base, decorated with floral swags and acanthus.
The bezel is the early type with bayonet fitting rather then a hinge. The rear door is glazed to allow the pendulum to be seen.
The French movement is of high quality and is by Victor Dewint. It is the early version of the Pendule de Paris movement with outside hammer spring. It is in excellent clean and running condition having been fully overhauled by our clockmaker. Pendulum is a replacement. It runs for 8 days and strikes the hours and halves on a bell. We have a video available of the clock running, please ask!
Condition of the case is excellent, the original gilding is beautifully clean and bright some wear to the gilding on the high spots. One rear foot has been replaced with a cast copy. The bronze has a lovely antique patination with some discolouration and wear. The dial is also in very good condition with some hairlining and a chip near the right hand winding hole. The marble has a good polish with staining and discolouration to a mellow antique off-white colour. There are some small chips to the edges. There is a repair to the left hand side visible at the rear.
Bronze founder Charpentier & Cie is listed in Tardy Dictionnaire Des Horologers.
Charpentier began making bronze mounts in Paris (rue d'Orle´ans au Marais) in 1834. He exhibited at the Exposition Nationale des Produits de l'agriculture et de l'industrie of 1849, where he was awarded a silver medal and later at the Paris International Exhibition of 1855 where he won a Me´daille de premie`re classe for his bronze casts of sculptures by Fratin, Buhaut and Moreau. At the London 1862 International Exhibtion he again received a First Classe Medal for a magnificent pair of torche`res, also in the Neo-Gre´c taste, after models by A.E. Carrier-Belleuse. Charpentier & Cie was located at 8, Rue Charlot, Paris in 1860, and was later known as Lemerle-Charpentier & Cie, circa 1870 to 1890.
Clockmaker Victor Dewint is listed in Tardy as working in Rue Vieille-du-Temple in 1850, although I feel that this particular clock is earlier then 1850 due to the outside hammer spring, the early style of signing the movement by Charpentier (later movements were stamped) and the early style bayonet fit bezel. The date listed by Tardy is a "know to be working" date rather than a start date and therefore I think a date of 1840 is appropriate. It can not be much earlier then this as Charpentier was working from Rue D'Orleans in 1834.
Charpentier A Paris Bronze Founder's mark and Victor Dewint A Paris clockmaker's mark on the movement backplate.
Dial signed for the Bronze Founder Charpentier A Paris
Complete with pendulum, bell and a suitable key. Full setting up instructions supplied if required.
Dimensions of clock:
inches: Height 11 1/2", Width 15", Depth 5"
centimetres: Height 29 cm, Width 38 cm, Depth 12.5 cm
Dragon-Antiques.com has dated this piece to the 1850s.
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Early Bronze and Ormolu Antique French Clock by Charpentier of Paris
