i am looking to buy this clock. it has the word maxim 900 on the side.on the front name plate the words are la posie. thanks paul

I don't know this clock...but, it looks french. Is it spelter/pot metal? Is it hollow? Does the back of the clock mechanism have anything or possibly if you remove the back of the clock and see if anything is on the rear plate.

It was most likely made for the American market.

greg

Hi Paul,

I'd be a little wary on this one. Look at the patina on the clock. Now look at the girl. It's hard to tell from a picture, but I think she's wearing a fresh coat of paint and/or rub 'n buff..

It's almost certainly spelter finished to look like brass or bronze. Spelter is notorious for fracturing if you look at it wrong, and yet there she is with arms, legs, fingers and toes in tact. I can't tell what the object is in her right hand, but it's nearly a miracle that it's still there.

I attended a lecture at the Midwest regional years ago and the speaker demonstrated how to reattach or reproduce broken or missing parts on statue clocks. He used epoxy putty, steel rods, and even bondo. That stuff doesn't look like bronze, but neither does spelter. Metallic paint and rub 'n buff do wonders.

I don't mean to put you off. It's a lovely clock, even if it has been repaired. Take a close look, tap on it a little, and listen. If you detect some reproduction, you may be able to talk the price down a bit.

I agree with Greg that it's probably French. If so, you may have left an "e" out of "la poesie". (Poetry)

The clock is a centrepiece, even if some past sins have been forgiven by a skilled restorer.

Best,
Tom Chaudoir