Gilt bronze and lapis lazuli three piece clock garniture

This clock set, or garniture, dates from the end of the 19th Century, with the lapis lazuli veneer being a more recent addition. The garniture comprises a central clock and a pair of flanking vases, all veneered in the semi-precious stone lapis lazuli, and decorated with sumptuous gilt bronze mounts.

The clock is modelled in the French Neoclassical, or Louis XVI, style. It has a central circular drum case holding the movement, fronted by the dial with enamel roundel showing the time in Roman and Arabic numerals. There is a hanging pendulum below and the clock works are set within a case flanked by two columns on either side. Two sphinx figures in gilt bronze are placed atop the lintel, set in line with the columns and facing outwards. The sphixes are Greek sphinxes, each formed with a female head on a lion's haunches and the wings of a bird. The clock is centrally surmounted by a lidded urn with flowers and fruit.

The two flanking vases are similarly decorated and each feature twin intertwined serpent handles.

At the time that this clock set was made there was a large demand for objects, decorations and furniture in the earlier styles of the 17th and 18th Centuries, during the reigns of Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI. However, since there was only a minimal supply of these pieces, contemporary makers of the day would themselves produce beautiful objects in these earlier styles, whilst occasionally applying contemporary twists. In this set, the structure of each piece, together with the serpent handles, sphinx and vase surmounts, are typical of the Louis XVI style of art and decoration.

Clock: Height 52cm, width 39cm, depth 15cm
Vases: Height 38cm, width 16cm, depth 12cm