Napoleon III period gilt bronze and Sevres style porcelain mantel clock

Napoleon III period gilt bronze and Sevres style porcelain mantel clock
French, c. 1860
Height 50cm, width 53cm, depth 21cm
 
This sophisticated gilt bronze mantel clock is an elegant piece of mid-19th Century design, beautifully cast and gilded and set with two delicate Sevres style porcelain panels. The clock case's finest feature is the charmingly naturalistic scene at its top, showing a full-length sculpture of a female figure sitting with a basket and two doves. They are displayed on a naturalistic, oval-shaped plinth, which is decorated all around its exterior with painstakingly intricate foliate motifs.
 
Either side of the plinth there are two Sevres style porcelain panels, each of which shows a winged putto. One putto is shown writing, while the other is shown holding a dove. Each is set inside a turquoise blue border decorated with delicate gilt scrolls. In the centre of the plinth sits the clock dial, which is enamelled and contains Roman numerals. It is signed 'Prize Medal 1851 / Miroy Fres Brevetes / Paris' after the clock's maker, Miroy Freres (French, fl. mid-19th Century), who rose to prominence following their display at the Great Exhibition of 1851 in London.
 
Artist/Maker: Miroy Frères