READING CLOCK, EARLY 19th CENTURY in gilt bronze with brown patina, decorated with two opposing standing women reading, supporting an architectural structure within which the dial is inscribed. The dial is white enamelled with black enamelled Arabic numerals for the hours and signed Dubuc Le Jeune. Beneath this structure rests a tripod surmounted by a flame and flanked by ram heads and sphinxes. It rests on a double oval and quadrangular base. The movement is missing and the protective glasses are missing. Minor accidents and wear, the upper element (cockerel) has been added. Height 50.5 cm - Width 32.5 cm - Depth 16 cm Jean-Baptiste-Gabriel Dubuc (d. 1819), who signed himself "Dubuc le jeune", was one of the most important Parisian watchmakers of the Consulate and Empire periods. His workshop, located on rue des Gravilliers from 1800 to 1817, was highly respected, and clocks by this watchmaker were included in the collections of Charles-Marie-Philippe Huchet de la Bédoyère, Mlle de Clermont-Montoison, widow of the Marquis de la Guiche, Senator Henry Fargues and André Masséna, Prince of Essling and Duke of Rivoli.