A FRENCH GILT AND SILVERED BRONZE 'WALLACE' FOUNTAIN CLOCK

A FRENCH GILT AND SILVERED BRONZE 'WALLACE' FOUNTAIN CLOCK

LATE 19TH CENTURY

with a brass eight day movement, the dial with a silvered chapter ring with black Roman numerals above an aneroid barometer inscribed 'A Libert, Rue de Rivoli 222', the case with a domed cupola with a dolphin finial, supported by four silvered classical caryatids surrounding the revolving glass 'waterfall' and a shallow dish with two chained bowls, on a pedestal base with the two dials, the sides with dolphins and winged spears in relief, on a gilt and rouge marble base

52cm high

Catalogue Note

Sir Richard Wallace, a wealthy Englishman living in Paris in the late 19th century, donated 50 drinking fountains to the city at a time when drinking water was in short supply due to the destruction of the aquaducts that served the city during the Franco-Prussian War. This clock is based on the 'large model', in turn inspired by the Fountaine des Innocents in the Les Halles district of the city with the final design being complete by Charles-Auguste Lebourg.