Gilded Bronze Clock - Empire Period - Myth Of Orpheus And Eurydice

This rare mythological clock from the Empire period, made of finely chased and mercury-gilded bronze, elegantly and intensely illustrates the myth of Orpheus and Eurydice, a theme particularly prized at the beginning of the 19th century for its poetic power and symbolic significance. At the center of the composition, Orpheus appears standing, draped in a chlamys, holding his lyre, an attribute that made him the most famous poet and musician of Antiquity. His slender silhouette, the delicacy of his features and the precision of his modeling testify to the quality of execution of this work, produced in Parisian workshops active under the Empire. The circular dial, enameled white and decorated with Roman numerals, is inserted into a refined architecture punctuated with garlands, laurel wreaths and musical attributes, motifs dear to the neoclassical aesthetic. The whole rests on a large rectangular base, the front of which is animated by a bas-relief frieze representing the most famous episode of the myth: the descent of Orpheus into the Underworld, when he tries to bring his wife Eurydice back to life. The scene, of great fineness of chiseling, deploys draped figures in the antique taste, magnifying the evocative power of art and the fragility of human destiny. This clock rests on four spinning feet and retains a remarkably fresh original gilding, enhanced by a warm patina which highlights the depth of the reliefs and the subtlety of the details. The original thread movement is present but needs to be revised; it is not accompanied by its pendulum and its key. Through the elegance of its composition, the richness of its iconography and the quality of its chiseling, this clock is part of the great tradition of Parisian bronziers of the First Empire, such as Claude Galle, Pierre-Philippe Thomire or André-Antoine Ravrio, who knew how to elevate decorative clockmaking to the rank of work of art. It constitutes a refined testimony to the neoclassical aesthetic and the fascination of 19th century artists for ancient mythology. The candlesticks visible in the photographs are not part of this set and are offered separately for sale, available in our gallery.