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Lot Essay
This most unusual and excellent quality table clock is a fascinating hybrid of French and English clockmaking skills. The unusually small and delicate proportions of the movement are atypical of English work but clearly influenced by English skills. The case is very definitely influenced by English cabinetmakers; the sound fret gallery above the dial between the upper mouldings and the dome is typical of Huguenot clockmakers.
One of the more unusual features is the delicate engraving on the dial and particularly on the backplate. The latter is engraved with a mythological scene depicting the nymph Daphne, daughter of the River God Peneus. She was the first and most celebrated of Apollo's loves and popular with artists throughout the centuries. According to Ovid, Cupid, in a spiteful mood, was the cause. He struck Apollo with a golden arrow, the sort that kindles love, and then struck Daphne with a leaden arrow, the kind that puts love to flight. Apollo persued the unwilling Daphne (seen running away on the backplate) and when she had no more strength to flee she prayed to her father to save her. Whereupon branches sprouted from her arms, roots grew from her feet and she was changed into a laurel tree. The theme symbolises Chastity over Love.
One of the more unusual features is the delicate engraving on the dial and particularly on the backplate. The latter is engraved with a mythological scene depicting the nymph Daphne, daughter of the River God Peneus. She was the first and most celebrated of Apollo's loves and popular with artists throughout the centuries. According to Ovid, Cupid, in a spiteful mood, was the cause. He struck Apollo with a golden arrow, the sort that kindles love, and then struck Daphne with a leaden arrow, the kind that puts love to flight. Apollo persued the unwilling Daphne (seen running away on the backplate) and when she had no more strength to flee she prayed to her father to save her. Whereupon branches sprouted from her arms, roots grew from her feet and she was changed into a laurel tree. The theme symbolises Chastity over Love.