Antique French Orientalist style ormolu mantel clock

Antique French Orientalist style ormolu mantel clock
French, 19th Century
Height 51cm, width 37cm, depth 14cm
 
This striking and highly detailed mantle clock is made entirely of ormolu, and is surmounted by the figure of an Eastern nobleman. He wears typical dress of his location and period: finely detailed robes, a curved sword and a turban. He holds a lamp in his left hand, as he leans against a chair with an elongated seat. Between the spaces of the chair legs is set the round, white clock dial which bears black Roman numerals. Next to the chair is an incense burner in the shape of an urn. The clock case below the figure is rectangular, formed of five layers alternately decorated ormolu. The top layer is adorned with carpet-like decoration. Below this is a layer of unadorned ormolu, then a frieze of acanthus leaf motifs and arabesques which surmounts another layer of unadorned ormolu, which are all set upon a base layer of arabesques, shell decorations and four feet, each of which are ornamented with an ormolu mask.