French Louis XVI Revival Annular Clock, Tiffany & Co., New York

French Louis XVI Revival Annular Clock Retailed by Tiffany & Co., New York

France, circa 1870–1890
Gilt bronze, marble, enamel

Height: approximately 34 inches
Width:
Depth:

An exceptional and highly decorative French annular clock of monumental scale, executed in richly veined marble and finely chased gilt bronze and retailed by Tiffany & Co., New York.The clock takes the form of a classical urn surmounted by a gilt-bronze pinecone finial and flanked by extraordinary intertwined serpent handles. At the center, two revolving white enamel annular rings display the hours and minutes, read against the raised arrow held by a beautifully modeled figure of Cupid. The gilt-bronze bezel is inscribed:

Design and Symbolism

The clock belongs to the French tradition of allegorical timepieces in which the mechanics of timekeeping are integrated into the sculpture itself.

Here, Cupid points toward the revolving rings, transforming the figure into the clock's indicator. The combination of Cupid, classical armor, serpent handles, laurel ornament and mythological relief panels is rooted in the neoclassical decorative vocabulary of late eighteenth-century France.

The composition can be understood as an allegory of Love and Time, a theme frequently encountered in important French clocks of the Louis XVI period.

This is not simply a decorative French mantel clock but a sophisticated sculptural timepiece derived from one of the most ambitious forms of eighteenth-century French horology.

Its considerable scale, revolving annular dial, extensive gilt-bronze sculpture, strongly figured marble and Tiffany & Co. retail signature give it the visual authority normally associated with important Parisian decorative arts.

The survival of the complete composition—including the serpents, Cupid, classical helmet and shield, marble urn, relief-mounted base and annular time display—is particularly important. At 34 inches high, it has the architectural presence to serve equally well as a significant horological object or as a centerpiece within a serious collection of French decorative arts.