Jean-Louis Rouvière a Paris, 1805 Empire ormolu bronze mantel clock Allegory of

  

Jean-Louis Rouvière a Paris, Rare French epoche Empire ormolu bronze mantel clock 1805. Allegory of Cupid victorious - teasing a amoretto, Excellent condition!

Jean-Louis Rouvière á Paris, 1805 rare Empire ormolu bronze mantel clock Allegory of Cupid victorious - teasing a amoretto. Large, heavy and Early Parisian Empire mantel clock manufactured in the best quality. Finest thick-walled bronze cast, changing between matt and bright fire gilding, the entire surface finely chased down to the smallest detail. Extremely fine execution of all figures including the very detailed and attributive reliefs.

The clock shows a very popular, typical combination of narrative pictorial composition with the charming theme: the god of love, Cupid, waves a branch of laurel leaves over the amoretto held in a cage. The white enamel dial is flanked by two seated griffins: mythical creatures that have the body of a lion, but have eagle heads and bat wings. Stylistically the griffins are inspired by the sphinxes of Naxos, they remind of guardian figures. The enamel dial shows black Roman numerals and an Arabic minute marker, original Empire gold hands, signed'Rouvieère à Paris'. Dial and hands are very well preserved, only small chips at the winding holes. Large, round pendulum movement, lock disc striking mechanism on bell for half and full hour, thread suspension. The clean movement is in good working condition. Amoretto's, small winged boys, in cages were a well-known motif from Roman antiquity and became famous mainly through paintings in Pompeii.

On the depictions they were offered for sale as a bringer of luck and love. Cupid, however, is more powerful than the amoretto's, he is the victor over love, lust and drama.

Other attributes are regarded as allegories of victory: the plinth is decorated with a relief of quiver, arrows and a torch as well as other representations of lion and eagle grasping. The central motif is also rich in allusions: a hybrid of man and leaf tendrils that refers to Apollo, who was defeated by Cupid. The latter was banished to a futile hunt for Daphne, who had to turn into a laurel tree. Overall condition of the watch can be described as very good and fully functional. Chapter'Amor and Venus' in: Elke Niehüser, Die Französische Bronzeuhr, 1997, p 94ff, on p 221: the picture 479 shows an almost identical pendule, the counterpart of the clock at hand.

Both clocks were almost certainly designed as a pair: the construction and the body are identical, only the figure is female and looks to the right, she is about to bend over the cage with the cupid. Identical figure of Cupid in the Museo de la Atalaya, Jerez de la Frontera, Andalucia, Inv. Case in the Patrimonio Nacional, Palacio de el Pardo, No. Jean Louis Rouvière became a master watchmaker in Paris in 1781 and opened a workshop in Rue de Rohan in 1783. In the Rue du Petit Lion Saint-Sauveur he is recorded from 1789 - 1806.

Because of his skills he built up a wealthy clientele. His movements can be found in numerous high-quality cases made by famous Parisian bronziers such as Tomire and Claude Galle. At the beginning of the 19th century, some of his clocks were mentioned in important contemporary collections, including a mahogany clock quoted in an inventory of his estate drawn up in May 1835 after the death of Anne de Damas (the widow of the collector Charles-François, Count de Simiane).

The allover condition is Excellent! 22,6In- 56,5 cm, wide. Schlagwerk 1/2 und volle Stunde. The love for old things has kept me working as an antique dealer for over twenty-five years.

Originally born in Denmark, I have been living in Berlin for a long time. Always on the search for small and large treasures, the quality and the high craftsmanship of the individual pieces mean a lot to me. A fast, customer-friendly and uncomplicated process is particularly important to me. I wish you a lot of fun while browsing, should you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me carsten berger.