A large Goldscheider "bronze effect" pottery clock in the Symbolist manner by E. Simon

This Goldscheider clock is large at 38 inches high. It was modeled and signed by Emmanuel Joseph Louis SIMON, who was born 1873 in Paris and died in 1932.

Simon exhibited at the Salon des Artistes in 1904-6 and 1914. He designed numerous models for Goldscheider Vienna in terracotta and alabaster in the Art Nouveau period. He is especially known for his terracotta clocks.

The clock is in the Symbolist manner, a style that calls upon emotions and ideas rather than representing the natural world in an objective manner. It asks the viewer to find the meaning of the work at an individual level without knowing the artist's intent.

What is the meaning of this woman of the wood emerging from tree roots, and is that mistletoe wrapped around the clock face? What does it mean? I think one answer is: "Whatever you'd like it to mean". If you pressed me for my meaning I might say, "The Tree of Life fruits with time".

The Goldscheider firm was founded in 1885 by Friedrich Goldscheider in Vienna. In 1891 the firm was granted the patent for decorating wares with a bronze colour.

The new wares achieved great popularity especially in Paris, and in 1892 Goldscheider opened a branch there for manufacturing 'bronzed' articles. In 1893 these were presented at the International Exhibition in Leipzig and at the World's Colombian Exposition in Chicago.

After Friedrich’s death in Nice in 1897, his wife Regina and brother Alois Goldscheider managed the firm and continued to produce romantic models of women reflecting the Art Nouveau style by renowned artists like Bouval. The factory finally closed in 1953.