Description
A French Philhellenic gilt-bronze mantel clock depicting a seated Mamluk, circa 1830-1840
A fine gilt-bronze model after the engraving of the same title by Louis Dupre, depicting a seated Mamluk in richly detailed costume, the figure resting beside the circular clock dial, above a rectangular plinth decorated with stylised foliate ornament.
France, circa 1830-1840.
H. 53.5 cm x W. 38.5 cm x D. 14 cm
Literature
Jean Savant, Napoleon et les Grecs sous les aigles imperiales, 1946, p. 346, for the representation of Napoleon’s Greek Mamluk after Louis Dupre (1789-1837).
Notes
The composition derives from a work by Louis Dupre, whose images of Greek and Oriental subjects became closely associated with the Philhellenic taste that developed in France during the first half of the 19th century. The present model belongs to a group of French gilt-bronze clocks inspired by the Greek War of Independence and by contemporary fascination with Greek, Ottoman and Mamluk dress.
Condition: Wear due to age and use, no guarantee of the function of the clock work