Empire clock, Paris, ca. 1810.

Empire clock, Paris, ca. 1810.
Mercury gilt bronze and blued bronze.
In running condition.
Measures: 57 x 36 x 13,5 cm.
French table clock of Empire style and period. In the effigy in gilded bronze we recognise Hebe, the cupbearer of the Olympic gods, whose canon of Greek beauty has been adapted to the neoclassical taste. The fine gauze dress enhances the perfection of her forms. A serpent is released from its cup, its sinuous body fringing the dial of the clock, making the design uniquely attractive. The dial is numbered in Roman numerals. The base, in blued bronze, is decorated with a foliate frieze with a central medallion of Roman inspiration, and vegetal fretwork in the mouldings. The whole is raised on gilt feet in the form of a scroll.