Beautiful, large 19th century Victorian era Black Forest 24" wall or parlor clock with a magnificent "Fruits of the Hunt" motif including fox, hound or hunting dog at the top, a rabbit or hare and fish with eel & cattail at the sides, foliate accents including oak leaves & acorns, carved face or dial with convex enamel on copper Roman numeral plaques and entirely hand carved in what appears to be old growth European oak! Exceptional both in size and quality, what a beautiful, impressively sized & a masterfully carved piece! Measuring 24" tall (with the fox's ears) and 16.5" wide, this one is on the LARGER end and with no loss of detail or decorative appeal! In heavy, solid oak we think, the aged finish or patina is also as attractive as can be. The 8.5" clock face is set into the 4.5" deep case (up to 8 1/4" deep at the fox's nose), beautiful outer scrolled shaping with reticulated vines with small leaves attached. There's even a maker or retailer enamel plaque on the face that reads "A. Duchiron, Confolens". Heavy, too! This one weighs just over 10 lbs, exceptional in every way! Very French but with the undeniably Black Forest visual & decorative appeal. The heavy old bronze clock movement is marked with "Brevete Paris" surrounding what looks like "RЯ" with a sun between but I've not found reference so, if any of you antique clock experts out there recognize it, please email. Gorgeous! Also, this is one of only three that we currently have available though we're working at getting more photographed and listed so, be sure to browse some while you're with us. Thanks!
If you've followed us for a while you know I'm a big fan of the old hand carved "Black Forest" items that come to us from 19th century Switzerland, Germany, parts of France and Italy, where they pleased the Grand Tour tourists and still please us all today. These hand carved treasures range from whimsical small bears to large and elaborate mantel clocks, wall clocks, wall plaques showing the most awesome anatomical studies of stag, fowl, "fruits of the hunt". I've got more to list so look through the vast collection. I've just used quite a few piece in our own 2nd home decoration , Rocky Mountains location, and love the look as well as the heritage since my own ancestors hail from that region and others. The pieces work well in Country Manor, French Country, Ski Lodge or Hunt Lodge and even in a den or office. Everything from a pocket watch case to huge plaques - from needle and thread holders to cigar caddy - these decorative objects survive today a testament to the artisan's craft of carving wood.
Very good condition. The clock does run but, as is the case with these antique timepieces, they often need fine tuning or adjusting once they reach their final destination as they sometimes get a bit jostled in shipment. We've noted that it ticks along but have not monitored it for duration or accuracy. A few tiny nips to the wood case possible but no larger chips, cracks, breaks or repairs to note. All enamel numerals are intact and as pristine as can be with the age. See pictures for all measurements.
