Gilt Bronze Mounted Mantel Clock

A rare gilt bronze mounted kingwood, amaranth and bois satiné veneered mantel clock, with bronze mounts by Charles Cressent, the dial signed, Julien Le Roy de la / Societe Des Arts, the base stamped BVRB. The movement is signed Julien Le Roy a Paris. The finely veneered case is topped with a glowing shell flanked by acanthus scrolls. The rich gilt bronze ornamentation is by the renowned bronzier, Charles Cressent. The wood veneer base is stamped BVRB, the renowned ebeniste, Bernard van Riesen Burgh.

Cressent was one of the first to incorporate clocks into pieces of furniture – dressers, desks, cabinets, etc. The base of the clock was likely the top of a cabinet of BVRB, now disappeared, on which it rested.