Colin Paris Important 19th Century Gilt Bronze Trim

-Maison Colin & Jollet in Paris- Important Empire style decoration from the second half of the 19th century with a finely chiseled gilded bronze structure on sea green marble. Note that the stamp of the Colin & Jollet house is affixed to the three pieces (prestigious 19th century art foundry located at 29 rue Sévigné in Paris) Beautiful allegorical composition depicting the goddess Aurora holding a flaming torch and lifting the starry veil of the night that covers the Earth to let the dawn shine supported by cherubs on clouds symbolizing the winds. On the right, perched on a column, a rooster sings the sunrise. The bas-relief decorated with Aurora on her chariot, followed by Flora and preceded by little Zephyr holding the Morning Star in one hand and pouring the morning dew with a watering can in the other. This elegant clock is decorated with a remarkable pair of large candelabra with caryatids in Winged Victory (essential elements in Napoleonic decoration) with raised arms supporting a laurel crown from which emerge five arms of light (electrified) decorated with grooves, acanthus leaves and spirals with rosettes. These renowned rest on a sphere (bearing the stamp of the Colin house) placed on a quadrangular pedestal decorated with a floral crown. The electrification is up to standard. Complete movement to be revised (note a jump in the enamel around the right winder) Beautiful original gilding with some usual traces of wear and oxidation. The clock measures 57 cm high x 40 cm long X 13.5 cm deep / Candelabra: 77 cm high X 20 cm wide. It should be noted that the whole thing weighs 52 kilos / Pendulum: 30 kilos / Candelabra 11 + 11 kilos Bibliography: The clock is referenced on page 394 of the "Encyclopédie de La Pendule Française" by Pierre Kjellberg. Colin is known as a bronze manufacturer from 1843 working in collaboration with the greatest masters of French sculpture, such as Carrier-Belleuse or Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, etc. and the Parisian goldsmith Christofle. An inventory of Colin's molds drawn up in the middle of the 19th century lists eleven titles based on statues and statuettes by Pradier, including Les trois Grâces or Vénus et l'Amour. Internationally renowned, Colin presented a bronze clock and a fireplace set mixing bronze and marble at the Chicago Exhibition in 1893; statues… There are also monumental works such as the statue of Diderot on the Boulevard Saint-Germain in Paris. Colin in particular took up Carpeaux edition models which were used until the end of the 19th century. At that time, the company had acquired a great reputation, particularly for its chandeliers, decorated with bronzes whose models were composed by H. Pain, Rozet, Messagé, Germain, Marioton. Around 1900, the Colin company produced sumptuous electrical devices with bronze decoration. A short-lived special warehouse for electric lighting devices had been opened at 32 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. Émile Colin retired in 1898 and died in 1899. He was replaced by a member of his family.