French ormolu mounted champlevé enamel five-piece clock set

This beautiful clock set is comprised of a central mantel clock, a pair of candlesticks, and a matched pair of vases. The garniture is designed in an eclectic late 19^th Century style that hints at the Baroque and the Rococo. The pieces in the set are crafted from ormolu and are profusely adorned with polychrome champlevé enamel.

The mantel clock is architecturally formed, its rectangular case raised on four foliate scrolled feet and surmounted by a top that resembles a roof. The structure of the clock is articulated in ormolu and moulded bronze borders define the edges and ends of each side; the front corners are set with pedestal-mounted ormolu putti, while the rear corners resemble classical columns.

The surfaces of the clock case, from its sides to its domed roof-form top, are profusely adorned with champlevé enamel: polychrome enamels abound, with an overall tonality of blue underlying the decorative scheme, and the enamel panels are wrought into a whole host of scrolling, arabesque forms. The front of the clock case is inset with a circular dial, likewise adorned with champlevé enamel, with Roman numeral hour indices on individual ormolu cartouches.

The pair of candlesticks is similarly formed and decorated, with each candlestick featuring a stem in the form of a standing, classicised putto, and the remainder of the surfaces adorned with champlevé enamel.

The pair of vases is matched: while not forming an original part of the clock set, the vases are of strikingly similar style and form that the group of five works harmoniously and flawlessly together. Each vase features a standing putto holding aloft a horn-shaped glass flute, its surface delicately etched with subtle detailing.

Clock: Height 46cm, width 23cm, depth 15cm
Vases: Height 29cm, diameter 11.5cm
Candlesticks: Height 26.5cm, diameter 10cm