A FRENCH ART NOUVEAU GILT BRONZE PENDULE À CERCLE TOURNANT 'ALLÉGORIE DU TEMPS' BY RAOUL LARCHE, CAST BY SIOT-DECAUVILLE, PARIS, CIRCA 1905

François-Raoul Larche (1860-1912), attended the École Nationale des Beaux Arts in Paris, where he studied under Jouffroy, Delaplanche, Falguière and Gérôme. He made his salon debut in 1884 exhibited there until his death. He received several public commissions, was awarded a gold medal at the 1900 Exposition Universelle and a Medal of Honour in 1910. Amongst Larche's most recognized works are his series of swirling sculptures of the inspirational American dancer Loïe Fuller, offered for sale as lamps at his gold medal-winning stand at the 1900 Paris Exposition. These, as with almost of all of Larche's bronzes - including sculptures, desk accessories, vide-poche, lamps and vases - were cast and edited by the Parisian foundry Siot-Decauville. The Siot trade catalogue of 1900 does not include this clock amongst the numerous other works by Larche, and it does not appear as one of the several pieces he exhibited at the 1900 Exposition. However, a later Siot trade catalogue from circa 1905 lists the clock available in three sizes, at a cost of 2700 to 7000 Francs. The triumphant depiction of Aurora with her sweeping cloak above the maelstrom of infants below can be compared to another clock by Larche, one of his public works, that was carved at the corner of rue de Bellechasse and rue de Grenelle, Paris, shortly before his accidental death by car in 1912.