Large Sappho And Cupid Clock

Large clock with the poet Sappho as the personification of the Muse Erato playing the lyre in the presence of Cupid. At the bottom is a plaque from the Greek mythology poet Sappho of Lesbos, showing her grief over her beloved Phaon. This scene is based on a painting by Jacques-Louis David from 1809 (Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg). another painting is by Louis Ducis from 1811 and is in the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, USA. The clock is probably a product of the Choiselat_Gallien bronze foundry and made in 1817. A similar clock was purchased by the Garde-Meuble de France on May 17, 1821 and placed in the Lacque Cabinet of the Minister of the Household's hotel du Roi and is now on display at the Hôtel Martignon, Paris. Another copy is said to be in the Kremlin. The poet is the personification of the muse Erato playing the lyre in the company of Cupid.