Antique Clock Garnitures
A clock garniture is a matched set for a chimneypiece: a mantel clock with a pair of side pieces, usually candelabra, vases or urns, made and cased to match and sold as one lot.
What They Are
Three pieces, one object. The clock sits in the middle, the pair flanks it, and the cases match in material and mount. Titles on Sellingantiques swap between "garniture", "clock set" and "3 piece", but they describe the same thing.
French sets dominate, named in well over half the titles, more often than the material is named. Marble is the case material given most often, commonly combined with ormolu or gilt metal mounts. The Victorian French marble-and-ormolu set, dated to the second half of the 19th century, is the version you are most likely to meet.
Art Deco sets form a clear second group, about one in seven, dated to the 1920s and 1930s. They bring subjects the Victorian sets never carry: dancers, greyhounds, elephants and tigers, a German shepherd dog, a Pierrot and Columbine. Below those sit smaller populations of porcelain and enamel-cased sets, Louis XVI and Empire revival gilt sets, and cases in onyx, slate, alabaster and malachite.
Dating is often a span rather than a year. Of the listings carrying a date, many say only "19th Century" or "Victorian". Where decades are given they cluster on the 1880s, then the 1860s and 1890s, with the 1920s and 1930s behind them. Origins other than French are exceptional: a single Italian bronze-and-marble set, two Black Forest carved examples, one German porcelain set.
The Range
Material sets the floor and the ceiling. Plain marble and black slate sit at the bottom of the range, along with small Art Deco sets. The top is occupied almost entirely by large gilded ormolu sets and porcelain-panelled cases in Louis XVI and Empire taste, with enamel and Imari-mounted porcelain alongside them.
Scale pushes hard in one direction. "Large" appears in a modest number of titles and clusters among the highest-priced sets, joined by "monumental" and "huge". A named revival style does similar work: Louis XVI and Empire descriptions turn up repeatedly at the upper end.
Within any branch, modelled figures lift a set above a plain one. Cherubs recur on the 19th-century sets; the Deco sets carry sculptural groups of dancers and animals. Completeness matters too, since some listings under this heading name only a clock, while the sets described as three-piece or with matching garnitures read higher.
Retail Price Guide 2026
Typical UK retail prices for clock garnitures, calculated from the Sellingantiques database of over a million retail prices indexed since 2003. This retail price guide relies exclusively on Sellingantiques data; no external sources or auction records are used, so the figures do not describe the wider market.
One-offs from the archive: a 'penny moon' dial showing moon phases, a lyre-form clock, an Egyptian Revival set and a garniture on the theme of Literature.
The Antique Clock Garnitures Glossary
- Garniture
- A matched set of clock plus flanking ornaments, sold and displayed together. Garniture de cheminee, the French term, appears occasionally in titles.
- Three-piece
- Clock and two side pieces, the usual configuration in these listings. Written "3 piece" as often as spelt out.
- Ormolu
- Gilded metal mounts, named in a fifth of titles and most often paired with a marble case.
- Mantel clock
- The clock element, made for a chimneypiece. Both "mantel" and "mantle" spellings appear, and in equal numbers.
- Portico
- A case form with columns supporting an entablature over the movement. Four-glass means a case glazed on four sides so the movement shows.
- Champleve and cloisonne
- Enamel set into or between metal cells, named on a handful of sets. Spelter, a zinc alloy, turns up for figures and mounts.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many clock garnitures come up each year?
Around 25 are listed a year on Sellingantiques, drawn from a wide spread of dealers rather than one or two specialists.
Seventy-four different dealers have handled one, which is close to one dealer per two listings.
What does a three-piece garniture include?
A mantel clock and two matching side pieces. Candelabra are the commonest flankers, with vases and urns close behind, and figural bronzes on some sets.
The cases are made to match, so the trio reads as one object rather than three items put together.
Are these sets mostly French?
Yes. French origin is stated in well over half the titles, making it the single most stated fact about a garniture in this category.
Other origins barely register: one Italian bronze-and-marble set, two Black Forest carved examples, a German porcelain set.
Which marbles do dealers name?
Sienna, red, white, pink, black slate, bleu turquin, breccia and block marble all appear in titles. Dealers tend to name the variety rather than leave it at "marble".
Onyx turns up in a small number of listings, and alabaster and malachite once or twice apiece.
What do Art Deco garnitures look like?
They are the second population in the category, about one in seven listings, dated to the 1920s and 1930s. Marble cases are common, often with bronze or spelter figures.
The subjects mark them out: dancers, greyhounds, elephants and tigers, a German shepherd dog, a Pierrot and Columbine.
Do any unusual garnitures turn up?
A few, once each. A set with a 'penny moon' dial showing moon phases, a lyre-form clock, a cathedral clock under an original dome.
An Egyptian Revival set and a garniture on the theme of Literature also appear. Rare case treatments include tortoiseshell, toleware and Imari porcelain mounts.