The two seated figures derive from the models of L'Etude et la Philosophie created for the Sévres factory by Louis-Simon Boizot in 1780. The design is believed to have derived from one by Dominique Daguerre who commissioned the bronzier Francois Remond to execute it in bronze circa 1783. In 1788 Daguerre delivered two of these clocks to Louis XVI for the Château de St. Cloud (see: P. Verlet, Les Bronzes Dorés Francais du XVIIIe Siécle, Paris, 1987, p. 322) Similar examples have been sold by Christie's at Hackwood Park 20-22 April 1998 lot 77 and Monaco 16-17 July 2001 lot 685