Empire table clock. France, ca. 1800

Empire table clock. France, ca. 1800.
Mercury gilt bronze.
Losses in the gilding.
Suspension silk thread.
Measurements: 51 x 55 x 16,5 cm.

French table clock of clear Empire style, within the Napoleonic or First Empire period. The piece fully responds to the French imperial neoclassical aesthetic, inspired by Greco-Roman Antiquity and characterized by the use of mercury bronze, monumental sculptural compositions and mythological references. In this case, the scene depicts a classical figure -probably Minerva/Athena- driving a chariot or triumphal chariot pulled by two horses, a very popular motif in the so-called pendules au char or "chariot" clocks of the French Empire. The clock integrates the hour disc into one of the chariot wheels, while the rectangular base is decorated with classical reliefs, garlands and scenes of archaeological inspiration, following the archaeological taste derived from Pompeii and ancient Rome. The composition stands out for its strong theatricality, the sculptural precision of the horses and the ornamental richness of the chiseled and gilded bronze, characteristic elements of the great Parisian bronze artists of the time such as Thomire, Ravrio or Claude Galle.