Object Description
Large Neoclassical style gilt bronze mantel clock with Cupid and Psyche
French, 19th Century
Height 54cm, width 80cm, depth 30cm
This beautiful mantel clock features a case wrought entirely from gilt bronze in the ornate Louis XVI style. The case is richly adorned with cast and engraved detailing—such as the delicate drapes and floral garlands that bedeck the lower register of the body. The circular clock drum is centrally placed, inset with a white enamel dial. Strikingly, the drum is flanked by two large sculptural figures—one depicting Psyche, the other Cupid. Their forms are superbly rendered, with every detail finely cast. The clock is a wonderful example of 19th Century French craftsmanship.
The dial is signed ‘Fd. Berthoud / Paris’, for the clockmaker Ferdinand Berthoud, who flourished during the late 18th and early 19th Century.