Lot 571

De La Fosse, Chaussee d'Antin à Paris, Height 430 mm, Total Height 600 mm, circa 1810
A unique Empire mantel clock with half hour / hour self strike "Amour Fou"
Case: bronze, firegilt, wooden base with inlays, glass dome. Dial: enamel chapter ring. Movm.: circular brass full plate movement, 2 barrels, 2 hammers / 1 bell, count wheel, lever escapement, silk suspended short pendulum.
The three-dimensional figure of a winged Cupid carries his arrow of love and sits in a chariot decorated with dragon motifs that is pulled through the clouds by a female in a fool’s outfit. The wheel of the chariot is represented by an enamel chapter ring with Roman hours, the skeletonized movement is visible behind the spokes. The rectangular base sits of four ornamented hoof feet and is decorated with a relief scene of Venus in the company of two putti with fool's bells, in the process of enchanting Zeus, who has his eagle with him - the scene is an allegory of the madness of love. Where love rules, the fool is not far off…
The dial is signed De La Fosse, Chaussee d'Antin à Paris. The signature could refer to the decoration painter Jean-Charles Delafosse (1734-1789 or 1791), who may have drafted the motif for this allegorical piece - he was famous for his allegorical work. In 1768 Delafosse published the book Nouvelle Iconologie Historique, Ou Attributs Hiéroglyphiques, which contained iconographic drafts for engravings and allegories of the four elements, the four seasons, the four continents and the complex emotional life of human beings.

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