Clock "Cupid and Erato"
Applied Arts
Inventory number
2020.10.22.8.AA.DC.C1815.FRDescription
Mythology type bronze library clock representing Cupid, holding a cornucopia and standing next to the clock, on which a woman's head is at the top and a harp at the bottom, symbol of the muse Erato, in the center an enameled clock face is placed. The piedestal of the clock is composed of a rectangular base adorned with two cherubs holding a flower garland framing an antique symbols representing two quivers, one of arrows, the other of flames.Erato is one of the 9 muses. Being the lightest, she is dedicated to lyric poetry. Her attribute is the lyre and as her name comes from the word "love" (her poetry is therefore inspired by it), she is often accompanied by Cupid. The "mythological" clocks of this period largely exploited the theme of Cupid. Some of them represent Cupid crowning Erato. In this case the lyre is exchanged by a flower crown or the hands of the two protagonists who approach. Most of the elements are screwed and made as a decorative kit for clock. Thus the client could modify a clock to his taste, and interchange an Erato head with a vase of flowers or any other decoration. The subjective bourgeois taste could sometimes create clocks with problematics reading because the decoration prevailed over the symbolism. The Vassiliev collection owns a clock representing Psyche and Cupid whose central decoration has been mounted in the other direction. The quiver is upside down.
Materials
BronzeEnamelled metal