Charles X Period Ormolu Mounted Jacob Petit Porcelain Mantel Clock

Set within a beautiful porcelain case, parcel gilt, and florally decorated against a black ground, this fine mantel clock, with a central circular dial surrounded by an ormolu foliage wreath, was made in the Charles X period by the leading maker, Jacob Petit. The base which it is raised upon, below a rich ormolu mounted frieze, is decorated in line with the top, combining Neoclassical elements with a delightful Rococo floral aspect. It is marked to the base, ‘J. P.’
Jacob Petit, born Jacob Mordecai, was a well-known and celebrated French manufacturer of porcelain in the 19th Century.

After studying drawing in the studio of Antoine-Jean Gros, a follower of Jacques-Louis David, Petit joined the famous Sevres Manufactory in 1822, where he painted porcelain wares. After travelling and studying throughout Europe , upon his return to France in 1830-31 he published a complete collection of interior decorations. Together with his brother, Petit bought a porcelain factory in Fontainebleau and, later, a workshop in Paris, where his work became distinctive for their ornamental character, delicate, pastel colours and their reinterpretation of the neo-Rococo of the early 19th Century.