Lot Essay
The design of this clock with a figure carrying a basket relates to a number of clocks, principally with figures of blackamoors with bales of cotton, produced in the first quarter of the 19th century. These clocks were designed after engravings of Charles-Melchior Descourtis after Jean-Fréderic Schall and were used for illustrations in Henri Bernadin de Saint-Pierre's novel Paul et Virginie.