Antique brass clock help please

It has seen better days, but can anyone help me identify possible maker, age or origin? I have no idea what inner parts may be missing, and someone looks to have used a white foamy type glue to adhere that front piece on. Any help at all is kindly appreciated, thanks for your time. I can't find any markings.
Oh, and is this depicting anyone in particular?

 

I believe it is likely French in origin. It would have originally been accompanied by 2 garnitures (decorative pieces) that would have sat to either side for display. Off the top of my head it is missing the pendulum. Beyond that I am not an expert.

 

It is also likely not brass. It was gilded with a very dangerous process called ormolu. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ormolu

 

Wonderful information buyingtime, thank you so much! No wonder I couldn't find anything similar when searching brass clocks, LOL! I do see similar clocks now when searching the term ormolu, thanks again.

 

French Empire Mantle Clock is likely the correct description for it.

 

Great, thanks again buyingtime, you've been very helpful.

 

Open the back door to see the movement. Lots of clues there. I predict it strikes on a bell and has silk suspension.
Certainly French, does appear to be gilt bronze, probably 1840 or thereabouts..

 

Great Af, thanks so much.
I will try to open it when I get back home in about an hour, and will post what I find.

 

Ok, here is the back opened up, the only marking I see is VB, and then some faint scratched numbers in areas.

 

The silk suspepsion confirms the relatively early date. The bell nut is on backwards. The small end should be inwards, Remove the bell and there may be a maker's mark, not that it really makes any difference.
The clock needs a specific pendulum for a silk suspension movement, these typically have a wire like stem, bent to a hook at the top, and a light bob about the size of a quarter.
Under the bell it may have the pendulm length in French inches (pouces and lignes) which are close enough to English inches for now, probably in the 6,7 to 7,5 range.

 

Wow, thanks Af, you are so full of information. I removed the bell, didn't find a maker's mark but there are 3 different areas of number(s)
I see a 6
4 (obscured in pic)
275

So with this clock not working, the damage to the dial, the glued area on the front, and wear to the finish, does this clock have any value left? Could someone bring it back to life? Thanks so much for the help.

 

for got the pic

 

275 would be the serial number, 6 the pendulum length.
I have no idea about the overall condition, I just cannot see that well. It could probably be tidied up by an enthusiast quite cheaply, to have it done professionally would be more than the value, I'd suspect. I have no idea about the current market were you are for antique clocks.

 

Thanks again Af, I really appreciate it. I'll just list it as is (cleaned up a bit though), and see what happens. I think it's pretty just the way it is, working or not!

 

Hi Tyeldom,
You can a get wonderful replacement dial that looks like the porcelain one for under 10 bucks. The messy glue spot can be redone correctly under a buck. Like AF stated it can be cleaned up and repaired for under 25 dollars by someone who likes messing with clocks. I have a wonderful guy who does such things for cheap. I had spent hundreds having one clock repaired by experts that never worked right. The guy I use now repaired for 25 dollars and it has been working for 5 years now. I wish I had found him before I spent 975 on the experts. I had one French clock similar to yours with a battered dial and had it filled in with all kinds of stuff that never really looked right. This guy replaced it with a really amazing dial that no one has been able to tell that it is not original. Cost less than 10 bucks.
greg

 

Thanks Greg much appreciated. I think I'll leave the dial as is, but I wouldn't mind trying to fix that foamy hard white glue blob! How could I fix that for less than a dollar? Should I try to scrape the white glue off, then re-adhere another type of glue?

 

I think the number is 287 not 275

 

I my be wrong, but to me, that white stuff looks like Gorilla Glue. (My late sister used it on everything, and as I recall, any excess that "oozes" ultimately solidifies into a yellowish-white hard mess.)

If it is Gorilla Glue, I know you can chip and/or sand it off some surfaces. You can also check online, where "how to remove Gorilla Glue" will offer some options.

 

LOL, it sure is! What the heck is wrong with me??!!

 

Thanks again SBSVC, much appreciated.