French white carrera marble pillar clock

French pillar clock, white carrera marble with ormolu mountings, signed ‘à Paris’ on the dial and movement.

Late Louis XVI era white marble pillar mantel clock with ormolu mounts. The central clock is surmounted by a gilt lyre type finial resting on a marble plinth. The dial is flanked by two Doric marble ornate columns, each with gilt rosettes, beading and vinework topped by Classical figures in cameo form and double eagle heads just above. The bottom of the dial of this french pillar clock has a gilt wreath suspended below it. All rest on a horizontal marble platform with beaded edging and a ballustrade type ormolu facade with central rosette with toupie feet below. Circa 1790.

Dial: White porcelain dial with Arabic hours, open minutes with Arabic markers placed every fifteen minutes. The dial is marked, ‘à Paris’ with no makers name. The hands are in the style of Louis XVI.

Movement: In the era of the 1790s the movement should be a brass solid plate, usually circular movement, double spring driven, of eight-day duration with AN OUTSIDE COUNTWHEEL escapement (this is a must for this to be late 18th century) with bell striking on the hour and on the half hour. These 18th century movements usually had silk suspensions. i am told the movement is marked in the same manner as the dial – ‘à Paris’. Most 18th century French pillar clock movements had the names of the clockmaker or initials engraved.