Magnificent and extremely rare antique French Empire period flame mahogany and ormolu mounted musical portico clock. The superb mahogany case enhanced with top quality ormolu mounts, the ormolu in mint original condition. The month duration clock movement with pinwheel escapement and massive brass and steel gridiron pendulum. Striking the hours and halves on a cast bell and tripping the superb musical movement in the base on the hour. The lovely and perfect white enamel dial with fine blued steel hands of Breguet style moon form. Also a fine conterbalanced seconds hand. The massive musical movement playing four airs and set off on the hour or on command from levers in the base. Most unusually the rods operating the music box from the clock to the base operate within the columns of the portico clock and so are unseen. The music box itself contains a very early FUSEE key-wind chevron-comb cylinder musical movement playing four airs, circa 1817. Playing (in order of snail steps): 1/ Rule Britannia! (Thomas Arne, 1740) 2/ The Shepherds and the Clouds (John Rawlings 1808) 3/An unknown gallop waltz 4/ Bid me Discourse (Henry Rowley Bishop, 1817) With single-spring motor chain-linked to the 10-groove fusee train, Geneva stop-work positioned to the narrow head of the winding spindle, raised 12-inch cylinder with full polished brass bedplate, shaped brass comb bar for the 41-part sectional comb with teeth in pairs, one single tooth to extreme treble, arranged chevron with first bass right, second bass left and full treble to centre, paddle counter balance for manual start/stop override, slender governor clamp and twin centrifuge-set fins. Bedplate screws suspending movement in inverse position within oak panel comb box, clamped to the base and the three controls issuing to left-hand side, engraved legend in brass in Play, Change, Stop, clock actuation paddle diametrically positioned to top. The clock covered with its original and early glass dome. The clock is French and dated within the movement to 1817. With dome 26 inches high by 16 inches wide by 9.75 inches deep (65 cm by 40 cms by 24.325). Without dome 24.5 inches high (61.25 cm). Base alone 4.375 inches high by 16 inches wide and 9.75 inches deep ( 10.94 cm by 40 cm by 24.325 cm).