A good late 19th century French polychrome enamel decorated repeating carriage clockRetailed by Elkington & Co., Paris, the movement stamped with the encircled B trademarkThe corniche case with ribbed handle over an oval inspection panel and repeat button, both sides and the front panel decorated with symmetrical patterns of foliate scrolls and flower heads picked out in predominantly reds and greens on a blue ground. The Roman gilt chapter ring interspersed with darker shields around a purple centre with blued spade hands. The silvered lever platform escapement with compensated bimetallic balance striking on a coiled blued steel gong. Running, striking and repeating. 17.5cms (7ins) high.Footnotes:The firm Elkington & Co. is one of the most important names associated with the production of silver plate in England in the 19th century. Formed as a silversmith in Birmingham in 1836, the business was the creation of its founder George Richards Elkington (1800-1865) who began to apply the principals of electro-metallurgy to gilding and plating with silver and by 1838 he had discovered and patented a new way to bond silver onto the surface of another metal using electricity. The firm of Elkington rapidly went into the full-scale production of silver electroplated wares, other items such as clock cases, and recreations of famous works of art in metal which proved extremely lucrative. Works by Elkington & Co. can be found in the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.