Dragon-Antiques.com has dated this piece to the 1850s.
~~ Excellent condition, fully working and tested ~~
Made by the renown Parisan maker Jean-Baptiste Delettrez and retailed by Glasgow jeweller J&W Mitchell. Classical in style, porcelain is beautifully decorated with cherubs to the front, floral swags and exotic birds. A porcelain urn to the top with flame finial.
The gilding is in lovely original condition with a colour and finish that can only be achieved with mercury gilding. It is well finished with polished highlights. The bronze is beautifully light in design with a fine crispness. Porcelain is signed to the reverse and the clocks sits upon its original gesso base.
The French movement is superb quality and is by the renown maker Jean-Baptiste Delettrez. His mark is on the movement pendulum and on the bezel. It is a large plate version of the Pendule d'Paris movement with Brocot Pin-pallet escapement and rack strike. It is in excellent clean and running condition. Pendulum is original. It runs for 8 days and strikes the hours and halves on a bell. We have a video of the clock, please ask and we will send you a link.
Condition of the case is excellent, the original gilding is beautifully clean and bright with hardly any wear or discolouration, just some loss to the rear of the case where less gold was originally applied. The porcelain is in excellent condition including the overglaze gilt decoration. The underside of the urn has some cracks which have been previously repaired. We have replaced the fabric on the base.
Jean-Baptiste Delettrez (1816-1887) was a renowned 19th-century French clockmaker. He is listed as working in Tardy Dictionnaire des Horlogers at Rue de Berry au Marais in 1850.
Delettrez and Achille Brocot, son of the respected clockmaker Louis-Gabriel Brocot, established a clockmaking company in Paris. The firm was awarded a 1st class prize at the Paris World Exposition of 1857. This innovative and fruitful partnership continued until the death of Brocot fils in 1878 after which event Delettrez continued on his own. These elegant and much-admired timepieces were typically made to order for retailers, including several in Britain, with dials carrying the name of the retailer rather than that of their maker, but whose mechanism was stamped with the cartouche (JBD). He married his cousin Caroline Delettrez in Paris on 2 April 1845. They had two sons, Louis and Jules, both of whom later carried on the family tradition of metalworking, the former as a manufacturer of bronze objects d'art and the latter as a goldsmith.
Jean-Baptiste Delettrez makers mark on the bezel and pendulum.
Retailers mark on the movement backplate and on the dial
Complete with original pendulum, bell and a suitable key. Full setting up instructions supplied if required.
Dimensions of clock (overall inc base):
inches: Height 15 3/4", Width 12 1/4", Depth 6 1/4"
centimetres: Height 40 cm, Width 31 cm, Depth 16 cm
Shipping within UK £25
Shipping to USA / Europe £95 by air fully insured
World wide shipping - £145 by air fully insured
Dragon-Antiques.com has dated this piece to the 1850s.
You can view the stock and full dealer information on the Dragon-Antiques.com Profile Page
Fine Ormolu and Sevres Porcelain Antique French Clock by Jean-baptiste Delettrez
