catalog text
AUSTRIAN NEOCLASSICAL PARCEL GILDED EAGLE WALL CLOCK
With polychromed swag | probably Vienna, circa early 19th century
Item # 209IFB28P
A highly sculptural Austrian Neoclassical wall clock featuring a wonderfully carved and brilliantly gilded eagle surmounting a ledge wrapped in swags of green fabric, grasping the material in its beak as its body stretches towards the sky. The center of the piece has a clock face situated in it with a Roman numeral chapter ring behind a glass door and the entire piece rests on paws of an unknown animal while the gilded fringes of the fabric dangle and create a lovely accent against the dark green of the fabric. Just below the clock face in the void formed in the fabric, a pierced pendulum swings back and forth. The eagle, animal paws and fabrics are all carved of a softwood, presumably pine though it is difficult to examine more fully. The reverse of the clock has a small wooden door secured with iron angled pins that rotate to release the door and give access to the silk-suspension works. It retains an original hanging ring on the top for seamless mounting on the wall.
Measurements: 26" H x approx. 20" W x 5 1/2" D
Condition Report:
Apparently original gilding with some chipping, wear and loss - this includes the seam in the eagle's neck and the seam for the wings; overpainting to the gilding in a few areas; overall the eagle presents beautifully; green polychroming is early and lovely, originality unknown; chipping and wear to surfaces throughout exposing the underlying gesso; chipping to the enamel of the clock face (most notably on the far left around the screw, extensive chipping around the winding holes and some smaller chips on the far right around the screw), along with wear to the Roman numerals of the chapter ring: hours are lightly faded while minutes are almost entirely faded; front door hinge repaired with a thin piece of wire; presently non-functioning with original works intact but not examined for completeness and likely missing necessary elements; no winding key. Images of the movement available upon request.