A FINE AND RARE FRENCH EMPIRE PERIOD GILT BRONZE
A FINE AND RARE FRENCH EMPIRE PERIOD GILT BRONZE FIGURAL MANTEL CLOCK DEPICTING THE PUNISHMENT OF CUPID, CIRCA 1810
the clock surmounted by a figure of Venus holding a sprig of roses, about to beat Cupid as he tries to escape, flanked by stylised clouds and raised on a rectangular plinth with lambrequin mount and laurel wreaths, the base with an ormolu mount depicting a pair of swans, on toupie feet, the white enamelled dial with Roman numerals and Arabic quarter hour markers, the twin train movement with outside countwheel and silk suspension striking on the half hour and the hours on a bell,
45.5cm high
The movement is winding, ticking and striking when the hands are turned but not fully tested or guaranteed.
The Chastisement of Cupid by Venus was a frequently depicted theme in both painting and sculpture from the 16th century onwards. Giovanni Francesco Susini's bronze of the same subject, dating to circa 1638; is of similar design to the present bronze, with Venus using a sprig of roses to smack the struggling Cupid on his bottom. (See Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Inv. No. 26.260.90.)
The design for this clock is mentioned in: "Die Französische Bronzeuhr" by E. Niehüser page 130.
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A FINE AND RARE FRENCH EMPIRE PERIOD GILT BRONZE FIGURAL MANTEL CLOCK DEPICTING THE PUNISHMENT OF CUPID, CIRCA 1810
the clock surmounted by a figure of Venus holding a sprig of roses, about to beat Cupid as he tries to escape, flanked by stylised clouds and raised on a rectangular plinth with lambrequin mount and laurel wreaths, the base with an ormolu mount depicting a pair of swans, on toupie feet, the white enamelled dial with Roman numerals and Arabic quarter hour markers, the twin train movement with outside countwheel and silk suspension striking on the half hour and the hours on a bell,
45.5cm high
The movement is winding, ticking and striking when the hands are turned but not fully tested or guaranteed.
The Chastisement of Cupid by Venus was a frequently depicted theme in both painting and sculpture from the 16th century onwards. Giovanni Francesco Susini's bronze of the same subject, dating to circa 1638; is of similar design to the present bronze, with Venus using a sprig of roses to smack the struggling Cupid on his bottom. (See Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Inv. No. 26.260.90.)
The design for this clock is mentioned in: "Die Französische Bronzeuhr" by E. Niehüser page 130.
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