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- Mantel clock
- Attributed to Louis-Simon Boizot (1743 - 1809) , Designer , perhaps
- France
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- Date: c. 1774
- Medium: White marble, gilt bronze, enamelled bronze, brass
- Object size: 60.5 x 51.8 x 22 cm
- Inv: F259
- Location: Not on display
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- Description
- Provenance
- Marks/Inscriptions
- Further Reading
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- The design of this clock is tentatively attributed to the sculptor Louis-Simon Boizot (1743-1809). It shows Louis XVI dressed as a Roman general and receiving counsel from Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom – a poignant conceit in view of his later fate during the French Revolution. The gilt-bronze reliefs on the base depict, from left to right, the king dining with his brothers, the king in Roman military dress dictating laws to France from a book held by Justice, and the king enthroned on a dais, surrounded by allegorical figures including Truth banishing Falsehood. The clock itself is in the shape of a globe. Around the circumference of the globe are two rotating dials with numbers on enamel plaques indicating the hours (in Roman numerals) and the minutes. The lowest of three fleur-de-lis on the globe indicates the time.