The dial is of unusual design, a heavy and beautifully formed wreath of acanthus mounted with 12 porcelain enamel cartouches. A porcelain panel mounted to the centre is decorated with delicate flowers. Both the porcelain and the bezel are signed for the maker Lerolle. The rear door is glazed to allow the movement to be seen. Please note that this design does not have a glazed bezel. The French movement is of high quality and is the early version of the Pendule de Paris movement with a silk suspension. The backplate is signed for the maker Lerolle. 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. Click the video clip below to hear the bell and watch the clock running! This clock is an early work by the renowned Paris bronze founder Lerolle Freres of Rue du Foin. Established in 1836 after inheriting the family business the firm designated themselves 'Fournisseurs de la Cour de Sardaigne', referring to a silver medal granted to their father for a cheminée and console supplied to the King of Sardinia. Lerolle exhibited ornamental clocks, garnitures, chandeliers and candelabras, predominantly gilt-bronze or silvered, at most of the international exhibitions held during the second half of the 19th century, London 1851, New York 1853, Paris 1855 where the firm obtained a médaille de 1re classe, London 1862 and Paris 1867 and 1878. The firm was fêted by critics for their luxury decorations by 'first-class artists, while modelling, moulding, chiselling and finish rank among the bronze-masters of Paris' (The Illustrated Catalogue of the Paris International Exhibition, 1878, p. 153). In 1862, Lerolle participated in the Exposition des Beaux Arts Appliqués à l'Industrie and the same year were manufacturing bronzes for the Maison S.A.I. le Prince Napoléon, and the l'Hôtel de la Commission Française. The South Kensington Museum, later the Victoria & Albert Museum, acquired a gilt bronze tripod depicting the three heads of Isis cast by Lerolle supporting a bowl made from marble from the Pyrenees (B. Metman, 'La petite sculpture au XIXe siècle Les èditeurs', Documents sur la sculpture française et Rèpertoire des fondeurs du XIXe siècle, p. 201). Ref: Tardy; Dictionnaire Des Horlogers Francais and Pierre Kjellberg; Bronzes of the 19th Century.
Condition of the case is
excellent, the original gilding is beautifully clean and bright with hardly any
wear or discolouration. There is a casting fault at the bottom of each side.
Dial is very good, the porcelain has some chipping around the winding holes. We
have replaced the fabric.
Complete with pendulum, bell and a suitable key. Full setting up instructions supplied if required.
About us - All of our clocks are original antiques, we source most of our clocks in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the UK. We prefer to buy our clocks in original 'dirty' condition. We then clean the cases using a technique we have developed over many years. We employ two qualified clockmakers who overhaul the movements. Movements are thoroughly tested until we are satisfied that they will run trouble free. |
||||||||||||||||
Click the movie player below to see the this actual clock
run -
|