Exquisite & rare antique French Napoleon III era H&F Paris marked 15 3/8" tall mantel or bracket clock in heavy gilded bronze with hand painted Sevres or Paris porcelain inserts & dial with Fragonard style romantic scene and doves! Magnificent! This one just in from France and I was in love instantly! An amazingly heavy piece, the clock weighs a hair under 12 lbs in solid bronze, basically dripping with gold. The porcelain face and inserts surely from the Sevres or Old Paris manufacturers, the quality of the hand painted decoration is superb and the colors are definitely reminiscent of Sevres works. The clock movement marked "H&F", I've done just a brief internet search and haven't been able to find the maker or retailer's name but did see a few other clocks of lesser quality and priced quite high. Stunning! A museum quality piece, I'd not have been surprised to see this one in the Napoleon II apartments in the Louvre.
Very good condition. There is really no damage to note, it has the pendulum and key. The movement ticks away just fine but when I attache the pendulum, it slows to a stop after a while. Not sure if the pendulum is the incorrect weight or length but the movement itself appears to have recently been cleaned and serviced so maybe it just needs a quick adjustment. A bit of wear to the gold enamel accenting around the clock face porcelain insert and there are a few of those small red "jewels" missing from in between the Roman numerals. See pictures for all measurements.
