FRENCH TABLE CLOCK ALLEGORY OF SCIENCES

French table clock with Allegory of Sciences. Belgian marble and gilt bronze. Brocot Ainé, Paris, France, 19th century. The white dial with Roman numerals features Breguet hands and part of the movement on view. It is housed in a protective glass, decorated with a band of pearls and highlighted with a magnificent vegetable decoration in gilt bronze that extends above and below. On the watch face you can read "Brocot Ainé Paris", alluding to the master responsible for its creation. The watch case is made of striking Belgian black marble, placed on four scrolled legs and with chamfered corners to accommodate more decorative bronzes. The choice of stone is determined by the magnificent result of contrasting gold and black. The so-called "Belgian marble" or "Noir Belge" refers to a type of limestone of that color extracted from various deposits in that country that was already known and used in Roman Antiquity but whose use was massive as a background for stone works. duras or intarsia of the Renaissance and later. Since the middle of the 20th century, its exploitation has been decreasing due to the progressive difficulty of accessing the few remaining veins of the material, and its use is now restricted to the most exclusive creations. At the top, two female figures flank a cloth-covered table on which are various books, documents, and a globe. The two ladies, dressed in robes and made of patinated bronze, represent the Sciences. Clocks of sculptural conception such as this used to be known as "French type" as opposed to English. The 18th century was the time when watchmaking combined the technical advances of that time with superb artistic works, characteristics that continued throughout the 19th century. It was common to choose works similar to this one to normally decorate fireplaces, but also tables and chests of drawers in palaces and important residences. Both the movements and the materials used to make these watches were expensive and required highly skilled labor, giving rise to authentic jewels. Allegories were a frequent theme in the decoration of sumptuary works of art in the 19th century, influenced by Neoclassicism. In general, minor divinities were chosen to decorate these elements of social distinction, hence the frequent appearance of "putti" or allegories of the arts or sciences or concepts such as time. · Measurements: 73x25x87 cm

· Size: 73x25x87 cms.