Aubert & Klaftenberger Mantel Clock with Sevres Panel
A 19th century ormolu mantel clock by Aubert & Klaftenberger, Geneve, the bell striking French movement by Vincenti et Cie., with white enamel dial in a drum case raised upon a Rococo plinth embellished with flowers and acanthus, flanked by cherub figures and with a Sevres type porcelain panel, c.1840. Width 18.50 in.
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- Ormolu - Ormolu was popular with French craftsmen in the 18th and 19th century for ornamental fittings for furniture, clocks and other decorative items. True ormolu is gilt bronze, that is bronze that has been coated with gold using a mercury amalgam. Due to the health risks associated with using mercury, this method of creating ormolu was discontinued in France in the 1830s. A substitute was developed consisting of about 75% copper and 25% zinc, however it was inferior to the bronze version. It was often lacquered to prevent it tarnishing.
- Acanthus - A stylized leaf motif, one of the primary decorative elements of classical Greek and Roman architecture, derived from the genus of flowering plants in the family Acanthaceae, native to tropical and subtropical regions of the Mediterranean area. It is a common element in classical Greek and Roman design, and is often seen in Corinthian and Composite order columns and used as a decorative element in English, European and Australian furniture, particularly on the curve of a leg, and as decoration for a corbel.
- Movement - The technical name for the workings of a clock or watch, and does not include the dial or case.
This item has been included into following indexes:
- clocks, mantle & shelf, material or style - gilt metal / ormolu 548
- clocks, mantle & shelf, period or origin
- Sevres (France) and Sevres style, items - clocks, material or decoration 122
