1224 - French vase clock in mercury-gilt bronze and veined white marble, with “pendule à cercles tournants” chime, Louis XVI style, Dufaud, Paris, 19th century

French vase clock in mercury-gilt bronze and veined white marble, with “pendule à cercles tournants” chime, Louis XVI style, Dufaud, Paris, 19th century Marble and mercury-gilt bronze. Dimensions: 86 x 30 x 28 cm. The elegant case is vase-shaped with a conical finial and handles shaped like intertwined serpents, flanked by a delicate standing figure of Cupid, his hand outstretched, holding an arrow signaling the hour. The lower part features a Roman helmet, a mask, and a torch, while the plinth features relief panels and rests on a stepped base adorned with berry garlands and turned legs. The clock features a double rotating ring with enamel plates and a blued steel hand. Its double-barrel movement features a cylindrical platform escapement and a counting wheel bell strike; the back plate is stamped “1581” and “DUFAUD PARIS.” Dufaud is recorded as operating on the Rue de Saintonge in 1870 (Tardy, Dictionnaire des Horlogers Français, Paris, p. 197). Examples of the same model can be found in Tardy, French Clocks – The World Over, vol. II, Paris, 1981, p. 90, and in E. Niehüser, French Bronze Clocks, 1700-1830, Atglen, 1999, p. 262, no. 1300. Batch in international warehouse (within the EU). Intra-EU shipment: no import duties apply within the EU. An export permit from the country of origin may be required.