SET OF MANTLE CLOCK AND CANDELABRA. GILT BRONZE, MARBLE. POCHON, JEAN-CHARLES. PARIS, FRANCE, LATE 18TH CENTURY.

Louis XVI clock mount and candelabra. Gilt bronze, marble. POCHON, Jean-Charles (act. last third of the 18th century). Paris, France, ca. 1780 or 1790 and 19th century. Bibliography: (clock) NIEHÜSER, Elke. “Die französische Bronzeuhr. “Eine Typologie der figürlichen Darstellungen”. Callwey, 1997. Page 131. A garnish consisting of a table clock with a Paris mechanism and two three-light candelabras each, made of white marble and gilded bronze. The clock has a rectangular base with the central area projecting to the front and raised on four legs, further enhanced with plant elements (garlands, leaves, scrolls, etc.) and architectural elements with a marked classicist taste and a frieze of reliefs with children in various attitudes situated in an idyllic landscape with architecture in the background. The dial is white, with Arabic numerals for the hours and dots and Arabic numerals every fifteen minutes, with the fleur-de-lis hour hand and highly decorated minute hand. It is topped by a composition of flowers, fruit, leaves, garlands and a ribbon highlighting arrows and a lit torch; on the sides are Cupid with his bow and a female figure who is most likely the goddess Venus. The two candelabras, each with three lights, have a circular marble base raised on legs and enhanced with a string of pearls in gilded bronze, a material that is also used to make the leaves and stems that, intertwining, create each of the three arms, which end in candle holders with saucers decorated with raised leaves and strings of pearls. The dial bears the words “Pochon” and “Paris”, referring to the place where the movement was manufactured (the Paris machinery). Jean-Charles Pochon achieved the rank of master watchmaker around 1775 and is considered one of the leading watchmakers in his field in the French capital in the latter third of the 18th century. His works are preserved in some very important private collections such as the so-called “Liechtenstein. The princely collections, Vaduz-Vienna”, and in institutions such as the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris (France). The machinery or movement may date back to the 19th century. In the case of the clock (the case itself), examples similar to the present one are known in private collections, since the bronzes come from a Parisian workshop. It is known as “L'Amour drobe par ses armes” or “Amor Wird Seiner Waffen Beraubt” (Cupid is stripped of his arms) due to the iconographic theme it shows. As for the candlesticks, they are reminiscent of Louis XV style pieces in some details such as the use of leaves to create the shape of the pieces, but they also present elements more similar to Neoclassical style works (the lighters and their decoration). Total weight: 20.35 kg.

· Size: Reloj: 30x12x45 cms. Cand. 17x17x28 cms.