Object Description
This table clock is an elegant piece of design, which has been finely crafted from gilt bronze (ormolu) and porcelain. The rectangular clock is topped by a beautiful gilt bronze sculpture of a seated woman, who wears a loosely draped classical dress, a laurel wreath, and holds a lyre. The sculpture is set on the slightly pitched lid of the gilt bronze clock case, which is decorated with relief bands, depicting stylised foliage and scrollwork.
Pink coloured porcelain panels decorate the body of the clock case. The front panel is finely ornamented with gilt Roman Numerals, contained within white medallions, with dark pink paintings of leafy vines woven between them. The front piece also features grisaille (grey, sculpture-esque) paintings of three cherubs, one pictured in flight holding a bow and quiver of arrows, and a couple reclining below. Of this pair, the female cherub is depicted plucking the strings of a lyre, while the male plays a pipe. The sides of the clock case are decorated with full-length grisaille figures, one female and one male, holding baskets of fruit and flowers. The four corners of the gilt bronze case are ornamented with classical female busts, known as espagnolettes.
The case is set on a rectangular gilt bronze base, which is decorated with a band of repeated stylised leaf forms. This base is placed on four winged paw feet.