Beautiful French Portico Clock with Marquetry and Gilded Bronze. 1870.

Precious French Portico Clock with lemongrass and gilded bronze marquetry. 1870. Box of marked architectural form of portico reminiscent of a triumphal arch. Rectangular box in hardwood with vegetal decoration in lemongrass marquetry on the base and crest. Central part decorated with four salmon-shaped columns with base and capital in mercury-gilded bronze. White lacquered dial with black Roman numerals and baton hands. The dial is decorated with a beautiful vegetal decoration to match the lentil. Beautiful mercury gilt bronze rod pendulum topped by a decorative lens with vegetal decoration inside. Paris 8-day movement with hour and half-hour chiming. The movement is engraved with the maker's name "Hos Azur" with the maker's mark, Japy Freres, who won a Gold Medal for this movement. This elegant watch is in perfect condition, with the overhaul done and machinery in perfect condition. Attached is a key, all parts are original and it is like new except for a small kiko on the dial under the number 6. The first clocks, made with weights, were necessarily hung on the wall. With the invention of the spring mechanism in the 17th century it was possible to unhang them and move them from place to place. These first clocks did not appear in France until 1750, and it took a decade for them to become established in England. They were commonly called mantel clocks because of the place where they were placed in the house, around which the whole family gathered. The designs would evolve in shape as the styles of the time developed, with the French clocks being much more decorative than the English examples. It is characteristic that this type of clocks imitate the baroque architecture of the time, such as porches or baldachins, and are made with good quality materials marked by contrast as in this example. Beautiful clock of noble materials that will fill with majesty the room in which it is exposed. Measures: 22 x 12 x 44 cms (box).