ORMOLU "VENUS SUR SON CHAR" CLOCK IN THE LOUIS XVI STYLE

Gilt bronze and chased clock decorated with Venus on her chariot pulled by a pair of doves. She is joined in the clouds by her son Amour holding a helmet in his hand. The white enameled dial with Arabic numerals and openworked hands is signed "Levol à Paris". The plate is signed Planchon. The figures rest on an oval white marble base decorated with gilded bronzes of garlands of flowers and ribbons in the Louis XVI style. There are also two urns carved in marble, decorated with flowers and topped with flames. The clock is supported by four small gilt bronze feet. The mechanism is signed "Planchon Paris".

Mathieu PLANCHON (1842-1921) was a watchmaker, historian and theorist. He settled in Paris, in the Palais-Royal, in the 1870s. He also worked with Jean E. ROBERT-HOUDIN, a famous watchmaker and automaton maker before becoming a famous illusionist. He studied "Pendules Mystérieuses" systems, and his work was followed by Maurice Couet, who created these famous mysterious clocks for the famous jeweler CARTIER. Planchon also reconstructed Viollet-Le-Duc's clock and Jean Fusoris's monumental clock for Bourges Cathedral in his Dictionnaire du Mobilier.

Napoleon III period, Circa: 1870

Condition report: In good overall condition. light wear to gilding and marble. The movement has been cleaned, serviced and is in working order.