Sumptuous and elegant clock in French gilded bronze in Louis XVI style. The decorations that surround the rectangular base are rich and show, above it is represented a graceful maiden who looks smugly at two small birds in the nest and stretches their hands, a gentle and graceful representation. The two birds were originally colored. The whole work was carried out by an expert Master goldsmith in France between 1810 and 1815. The procedure was that of the lost wax bronze casting of the various elements, which were then chiseled with extraordinary skill and delicacy to create finely varied surfaces. To finish it all was proceeded with mercury gilding or fire gilding, in which a solution of mercury nitrate is applied to a piece of copper, brass or bronze, followed by the application of an amalgam of gold and mercury. The object is then exposed to extreme heat until the mercury vaporizes and the gold remains, adhering permanently to the metal object. Artifacts of this type reached their maximum artistic and technical development just in France. The clock, with double winding, has a gray dial decorated with fine engravings (with time, light spots have formed on its surface), arabic numerals, hands are authentic, very particular is that of the hours, is also equipped with its original key. The mechanism is intact but must be checked and oiled by a watchmaker.
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SILVER Seller in Prato, Italy
