Directory table clock. Paris, ca. 1795.

Directory table clock. Paris, ca. 1795.
"Africa."
Gilded and patinated bronze.
Measurements: 47 x 36 cm.

Table clock made of embossed, patinated and gilded bronze. The piece follows a famous model of the famous bronze artist Jean-Simon Deverberie, who specialized in exotic themes (especially in the representation of African slaves in America and Indian Indians). Crowning this clock is a seated woman in a feathered headdress and skirt, holding a bow and spear, one foot resting on a stylized alligator, her tail curled around a palm tree, elevated on a "D" plinth base. A similar model is illustrated in Pierre Kjellberg's "Encyclopedie de la pendule Francaise", Les editions de l'ameteur 1997, pages 352 and 353, fig. B and C, while another example can be seen in Elke Niehuser's "French Bronze Clocks 1700-1830", Schiffer 1999, page 147, figs 237 and 238 and page 148 fig 239.
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 period. Bronze, a durable and aesthetically appreciated material, allowed the creation of complex and elegant forms, integrating styles such as neoclassical or rococo.