CLEOPATRA PENDULUM CLOCK
gilded bronze
Gilt bronze Empire style pendulum clock with Cleopatra holding an asp in her right hand as she commits the tragic act of suicide.
Her figure, at the top of the clock, is flanked on the right by a brazier, supported by three legs with lion-head heads and feet, with a snake twisting around the brazier itself, while on the left basket with various fruits and vegetables rests on a column.
The base of the pendulum clock is further decorated with a mythological scene of Cleopatra dying on a Roman triclinium bed while surrounded by vestals. The Emperor Octavianus observes the scene standing with two Roman legionaries behind him. One of them holds a spear garlanded with laurel and an effigy. On the right hand side a bust carries the initials J.CAE (Julius Caesar in Latin).
The body of the clock is of gilt bronze; the clock face is white enamel.
France, beginning of the 19th century
cm 49x35x11,5
