18 C. Louis XVI French Ormolu Mtd. Queen’s Manufacture Porcelain Clock, F. Godon

Product Description

An Incredible and Quite Rare 18th Century Louis XVI Period French Ormolu Mounted Queen’s Manufacture Porcelain Clock, known as the Marie-Antoinette Clock, The movement by François-Louis Godon. The clock consists of polychrome hand-painted porcelain and gilt ormolu decoration. Characterized by their extravagant use of Rococo design motifs, mantel clocks such as this one were used not for their practicality, but as a display of immoderation and opulence.

Atop the vessel is a spray of gilt spring flowers: daffodils, foxgloves, roses, and morning bells. The ormolu fixtures on the clock face, stem, and apex complement the painted flowers on the surface of the porcelain. Above the hands on the clock face reads “Maniere” in reference to the clock’s designer, Charles-Guillaume Manière. As the son of a Parisian master clockmaker, Manière became a master himself in the late 18th century and trained under other notable French designers. His work was often made in collaboration with Pierre-Philippe Thomire and François Rémond who possibly made the ormolu casing for his clock. This is a very rare and highly prized piece for any collection. Similar clocks can be found in museum’s around the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NY and other museums around the world.
Paris, Circa: 1785

Height: 16.25 in (41.28 cm)
Width: 8 in (20.32 cm)
Depth: 5 in (12.7 cm)