Directory portico clock; France, c. 1800.

Directory portico clock; France, c. 1800.

Mercury gilded and patinated bronze and green Antico marble.
It has silk thread suspension.
Preserves key and pendulum.
Measurements: 63,5 x 40,5 x 17,5 cm.
This work follows the model of the clock created by Jean-Baptiste Héricourt (1756- 1849), entitled "Au télégraphe d'amour", designed for the Palace of Rambouillet. It is an architectural clock with eight columns supporting an entablature, all in bronze in the form of a portico, topped by telegraphic signs with two analogous figures. It stands on a plinth of sea-green marble. All the bronzes that decorate it are perfectly gilded. Between the columns, Cupid and Mercury as children, gilded to the matte, operate the wheel or reel of the telegraph corresponding to the first model invented by Claude Chappe, known as the "telegraph of Lille". The scene is repeated at the base of the clock, in a bas-relief frieze. Poseidon has been defeated by technology, and the waves are no longer an obstacle to the transmission of messages of love by telegraphists on either side of the water. The lovers, at the end of the frieze, await their message, which fully justifies the name given by Héricourt to this model, "Telegraph of Love". At the top of the clock, the telegraph regulator takes the form of a bow and the indicators that of arrows in matte gilt bronze. A quiver of arrows symbolizes the double-notched mast typical of the Lille telegraph system. Only one other identical watch of this model is known to date. It is similar to the one given to Mrs. Lepaute Oncle et Neveu, 42 rue Saint Thomas du Louvre. It is described in the book "Pendules du Mobilier national 1800-1870" on pages 131 and 132. Similar to the one ordered for the bedroom of the Emperor and the King at the Imperial Palace in Strasbourg on October 25, 1806.
Nineteenth-century bronze table clocks were key pieces of interior decoration and design, as well as symbols of social status and refinement. Elaborately crafted and often adorned with artistic motifs, these clocks not only served to measure time, but also reflected the technical advances and taste for fine craftsmanship of the time. Bronze, a durable and aesthetically appreciated material, allowed the creation of complex and elegant forms, integrating styles such as neoclassical or rococo, which made them highly valued objects in the residences of high society.