A fine French ormolu Empire mantel clock
Paris, 1800-1815
Finely cast and chiselled case, surmounted by the group of Venus and Amor, flanked by doves hovering over clouds and a beehive with patinated bees, a mount in the shape of two entwined winged female demi-figures below the dial, the rectangular base set with a relief of a winged putto in a landscape with beehives, flanked by rose mounts, on claw and ball feet, the enamel dial wit Roman numerals, signed Lesieur à Paris, silk suspension bell, strike, anchor movement with flat-bottomed backplate signed Lesieur.
H. 43 cm
Provenance:
– Auction Sotheby’s, Amsterdam, 21 February 1995, lot 459
– Corporate collection, the Netherlands
– Private collection, the Netherlands
Note:
Several clockmakers named Lesieur are recorded working in Paris in the early 19th century.
Depicted is Cupid complaining to his mother, Venus, that he is stung by a bee, to which she responds that his wound is nothing to that which he can cause with his arrows.