Art Nouveau French A Moreau "Messagere" & Side Figures Green Onyx & Marble Clock

Description: Art Nouveau French Figural Mantel Clock w/Chime circa 1890-1900Solid Spelter Statues by or after Auguste Moreau & Side Figural Statues marked Monica, Amazing Look to Figures on Rich Green Onyx & Marble BasesClock Figure is Marked "Messagere" par Aug MoreauClock is 19.5" H x 11" W x 6.75" D, 12 lbs, has Antique Thieble PendulumSide Statue Figures are 15"&15.75"H x 6.75"W X 5.75"D & 4.5" lbs"Just Professionally cleaned & serviced!" Working Great Features a lovely white & lightly painted floral porcelain clock face plate & fairly clean interior. Serial number on clock works is #83345, but no MFG marks visible. This chimes to the hour (4 times for 4 P.M., etc) on the clock, once on the half hour. Amazing French Clock & Figural Statues Mantel set just screams late 1800's to early 1900's Art Nouveau period. The clock top figure is cast from a design by Auguste Moreau, a well-known French sculptor & artist. It was called La Messagere (The Messenger). We found a few of these designed clocks with the Messagere figure, but none with the same two side statues. Both of the Messagere's" sidekicks (lady figures) are manufacturer marked MONICA on the base of statues & they appear to have been among the many makers of such figures around the turn of the century in France per online sources. We found one other match for the statue of the trumpeter by Monica selling on its own but still have not located one to match the lady with the leaf. They make beautiful accompanying pieces & fit the theme of a messenger. The Messagere statue is not marked by Monica & may have come from another maker or foundry from the era. The bases all match with Green Onyx & Gray Tone Marble backs so they definitely are matched bases. The Onyx & Marble covers a cement form to bases. The coloring on statues are nearly identical to the Messagere piece & the casting of spelter quality even looks similar in thickness & style, but again they may have been made at different foundry works from the era. The Green Onyx Stone faces, sides & tops of bases are stunning but like a lot of old Onyx it does have some creasing in the stone & crack lines & very minor chipping. That said, it is quite solid with no notable separation in the seams, loosening of pieces or other but we wanted to note it. The top plate under the Messagere statue has the most visible creased seam but it too is solid in place with no actual splitting. Of course, the top mounted statue with metal set plate will help preserve it as well. In the photo of the base bottoms, you can see some slight patching or paste applied around a few of the leg attachments, this was likely done to tighten them a bit as the old cement can sometimes chip away a bit. The legs on the clock are sturdy as well as the side statues. But the side statues legs do have a little more play in them, but they rest quite firmly when sitting, so we did not try to adjust them in any way. After 120+ years, they have likely found a sound resting position. All said, we would still put this clock & pieces at very good+ to excellent condition for the age. The offering on the whole is as good or better than 85% of the ones usually found for sale in shops & online. We took a lot of pictures to try and give you a good feel for the item's display appeal, shooting them in various lighting, with & without flash. We believe the figures are higher quality spelter castings & are in great shape for their age. No breaks, dents or other, other than general wear from age. The finish on the figures have kind of a green tone to them and it all looks original with only minor wear. You can look at all pictures and use zoom feature if needed. Each figure is affixed to its base with an old "square head" nut and long bolt (common from 1880-1910). Pretty easy to take apart if needed, but we suggest to not do that unless necessary on 120+ year old pieces. We did take the top and one statue apart from base for pictures to show cast quality & style of the piece & to show their age. These have every appearance of being from 1880-1910 or so based on other sales of similar pieces and our over 10 years in selling such items. Some sellers have dated these as far back as 1850's-1870's, but we feel these are much closer to the turn of the century. We read the Thiebel pendulum which this has was first produced in the 1870's, so these would be at least after that date. Clocks of this general style & age are priced online on different sites for $1,500 up to & above $3,000 (you can check with a simple search) & some for less of course. We are pricing ours under most of those sites at a price we feel is fair given these item's appeal & condition. Last Note: We will pack the clock with the pendulum & chime bell dome out of the clock for safety in shipping. It is not hard to put back in, but you should use caution of course. If you are a clock person, it will be pretty easy if not, maybe watch a few "How-To Videos" online to see the best method. The pendulum has 2 hooked fingers at top that go over a small t shaped hold bar inside of the clock workings. You can lay the clock on it's back, shine a light inside and then gently hook the pendulum on cross bar and then gently stand it back up and you are ready. We hooked the pendulum on the cross bar from behind the t bar with the fingers facing forwards as that seemed the best fit. This clock actually was running without the pendulum in place when we brought it home after acquiring, but of course, the pendulum should be in place for proper running. There is a speed adjustment post on the clock front at the 12 O'Clock hour & one on the pendulum. The professional clock servicer said he only needed to adjust the pendulum to have it run in good time. We included two keys. One will wind the two larger posts on right and left side of the face. The key with small opening on end will turn the speed control on top, but again, since the clock is running in good time, we did not test the top knob and the pendulum has an easy to adjust screw as well. NOTES for Operation: Our Clock Expert advised us that on French Style clocks, the clock faces & clock works are often "firm fitted" in place within the clock chamber or case & not "fix mounted", meaning they have some play in them & can be easily moved slightly out of alignment when you are working with them. So, you just need to be a little careful with that as you put the pendulum & bell back in place or when moving the clock about. However, if that happens you can easily readjust that with just a slight turn. We mention that as the slightest "off centering" of the clock workings can set the clock out of "Beat" which effects proper timing. The "Beat or Tick Tock" should be uniform at all times meaning a consistent tick tock sound. The pendulum and chime bell dome and nut will be shipped in a padded bag outside of the clock for safe keeping. Easy to reinstall, but just be gentle in doing so. There is a claw hook on top of pendulum which simply fits over a small wire cross fitting on the clock works. Clock is shown working in the Video but we can never guarantee it will work exactly the same after being shipped of course. If it does not work as shown, then you may need to slightly adjust as noted above. So far after dozens of wind-up mantel clocks sold, 100% of our clocks have arrived & worked just as we shipped them, but there is always a chance it can be a little out of time after transport. Also, clocks must be placed on level surfaces to operate properly. We pack with "SUPER EXTREME" care, but cannot assume shippers will be as gentle as we are. Of course, it will be fully insured, and we will hand deliver to UPS to save the first step in the process. Let us know if you have questions. Items with video provided may appear a little darker than actual due to our video capacity at this time. Photos should be closer to actual appearance. Please Read: Signature confirmation will be required on delivery, so please plan accordingly. Due to value, it will be shipped UPS for insurance reasons. See our Feedback & Buy with confidence. We ship with extreme care and all items are fully insured! We often take from 30-60+ minutes packing more delicate & odd sized items to make sure your treasure is protected. We also photograph most items above $100 while packing in case a shipper was to ever damage an item (only one time in over 2,000 US shipped sales). For this reason, if an item is ever damaged, it will be the Buyer's responsibility to file a claim with the shipping service and we can provide photos from packing to assist Buyers if needed. The process is not difficult, but the timing of such does not allow adequate time for the item to be returned to us and then for us to proceed with a claim (chain of custody questions can arise as well on returned items due to double shipping and handling so it is just easier for Buyers). So again, as noted in listing, we do not offer returns. Of course, there is free local pick up and we can meet to assist if you are near Indianapolis or driving through. We do this often. Last, we have discounts with FedEx & eBay on shipping which do not always show up in eBay estimates on shipping. We try to refund what we can when there is a notable difference, but we do not know until we actually process the shipping order. 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Price: 1195 USD

Location: Indianapolis, Indiana

End Time: 2024-09-09T06:05:02.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD