The London ClockMaker

French gilded mantle clock
circa 1795. 19" high,
21" wide, 8½" deep.
Bell striking, regulated by a count wheel, and of 8-day duration. It celebrates "David’s Oath of the Horatii" pictured below.

The design alludes to, by
association, the prowess
of the common French soldier; reinforcing the ideal of honour and duty over personal safety.

The movement is marked GJ. "Gentilhomme and Gaston Jolly of Paris".

£32,500 + vat

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This clock was almost certainly commissioned
by a person of great importance, the identity
of whom has not yet been ascertained.

Similar clocks reside in the Royal residences
of Buckingham Palace, Stockholm and Munich.

The design bears a striking resemblance to
Jacques-Louis David's 1784 painting, shown
here, currently hanging in the Louvre, Paris.

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