Mantel clock with a shepherdess

This Parisian mantel clock, with a mechanism that measures minutes and hours, has a sculptural figural case, which is a decoration for the mantelpiece, where each element carries a symbolic content being a message of good wishes. A dark patinated bronze obelisk is set on a low base of red marble. In its central extension there is a clock mechanism with a round, silvered clock face surrounded by a gilded frame with pearling. On the right side of the obelisk there is a figure of a shepherdess wearing a short tunic, holding a pigeon with her left hand and feeding a sheep with her right hand lying on the obelisk’s pedestal. On the left side of the obelisk there is a tree with broken branches, on which young twigs are growing. The dove is the most frequently used attribute of the Venus of Italy – the goddess of spring, love and rebirth of life; so are the young twigs of the broken branch. The sheep is a symbol of generosity, gentleness and submission. The turtles, on which the base of the case is supported, symbolise longevity and stability.

The mechanism, concealed in the obelisk, has a spring drive separate for the running function (separate for the half-hour and hour strikes) and an anchor catch. The length of the suspension of the short, light pendulum on a threaded pendant can be adjusted in four different positions by a separate knob. The dial of the clock with minute and hour indications by two hands and with two spring tension holes. The striking of the hours and half-hours from a Parisian ratchet wheel with pinwheel regulator.

The clock was probably a gift on the occasion of the nuptials.

AK