Fantastic French Figural Clock

~ French - Circa 1880 ~

~~ Very good and original Condition ~~

Fantastic figural clock, featuring a ploughman and his horse, relaxing in the shade of the clock. Vines can be seen intertwined round the supports and the plough and seed basket lie in the back ground. The modelling of the ploughman and the horse is very sharp and detailed. The base is decorated in typical French taste - with floral swags and a lions head. The clock is mounted in a gilt gable with realistically modelled rush roofing. Best of all, the pendulum is visible and is in the shape of a floral bouquet in a basket. A wonderfully decorative clock for the country house look.

The movement is of excellent quality and is by Louis Japy who was son of one of the Japy Freres. It is in very good condition. It runs for 8-days and strikes the hours and the halves on a bell.

Condition of the case is very good - no losses to the delicate gilt metal decoration. It is signed by the case maker "CAMUS" on the right hand rear leg. The silvering of the horse is also bright. There is a crack across the alabaster tablet - however this is very old and doesn't detract from the piece. The dial has two chips next to the winding holes and hairline cracks - these do not really detract - see the picture below. We have strengthened the delicate gilt metal work that supports the clock movement - this is not noticeable from the front - although there are a couple of cracks in the metal. The front alabaster tablets are in good condition. The left hand small leaf on the 'c' scroll of the base is a different shape to that of the right hand side - this is perfectly original and was cast that way rather than having a piece missing. The gilt was a little dirty and dull - we have polished it with a little gilt wax. We have also cleaned and waxed the alabaster.

Clock comes complete with the original pendulum and bell and a new key.

Click here to watch the clock running! Click here to hear the bell strike!

LARGE video of clock running!(850k)