Victor Paillard mantle clock, £85,000 from Patrick Moorhead Antiques.
This 19th century French mantle clock is the work of Victor Paillard (1805-86), a Parisian sculptor and bronze caster.
He opened a studio for ‘art bronzes and furnishing bronzes’ in the 1830s where he produced statuettes, candelabra and clocks. At its peak, the foundry employed up to 100 people, and commissions included decorating the hôtel of the Minister of Foreign Affairs at the Quai d’Orsay.
The clock in question, 1.26m (50in) wide, was made in 1880. It has a white enamel clock face and an eight-day duration movement. Raised on a green marble base with gilded ormolu mounts, it is flanked by allegorical figures of geography and literature.
Patrick Moorhead Antiques, once a trade-only dealer now open to private buyers in its Brighton premises, offers it for £85,000.
