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Vienna, first quarter of the 19th century
- Case
- engraved ormolu, ormolu mounts in the shape of foliage, lyres and a scenic depiction showing God Apollo instructing Orpheus in the playing of the lyre, four ball and claw feet, snake vase finial
- Dial
- engine turned ormolu dial, enamel dial ring
- Movement
- anchor escapement, Viennese grande sonnerie on wire gongs, repeater, indication of date
- Height
- 12 ½ in
cf.: Vienna Clock Museum, inv. no. UI73
The Empire style represents the final major phase of Neoclassicism. While in France this period was closely associated with the reign of Napoleon Bonaparte and his personal artistic preferences, Austria developed its own distinctive interpretation – lighter and more elegant in character, defined by restrained forms and refined proportions. Both the ornamental vocabulary and the figural decoration draw inspiration from the art and mythology of ancient Greece and Rome.
The exquisite Viennese mantel clock presented here is an outstanding example of the Austrian variation of the Empire style. Its ormolu case is conceived as an architectural composition articulated into several distinct sections. The rectangular base, resting on claw and ball feet and decorated with a palmette frieze, is embellished with a suspended chain stretched between small pillars. Above rises the narrow movement case, surmounted by a segmental pediment, balusters, and a snake-handled vase finial. Ormolu corner spandrels frame the dial, while the sides are adorned with ormolu lyre mounts. The lunette of the pediment features a figural scene depicting Apollo instructing Orpheus in the playing of the lyre. The rear of the movement case is decorated with openwork scrolling foliage and enriched with an ormolu mount in the form of an eagle holding a laurel wreath.
A Viennese Empire clock with a closely comparable case is preserved in the collection of the Vienna Clock Museum (inv. no. UI73).