Mantel Clock With Chariot And Cupid

Mantel clock with chariot and Cupid, France, circa 1810.
Bronze, Alpine green marble.
Measurements: 35x40x11 cm
Signed “Vaillant à Paris” on the dial.

A very fine clock made by the famous bronze worker in the service of Napoleon Bonaparte, André-Antoine Ravrio (1759-1814) and the clockmaker Louis-Jacques Vaillant (176?-before 1830).
Made of gilded and burnished bronze, it depicts the God of Love on a small chariot, driven by a horse; the steed is immortalized in the moment in which it arches moved by the snapping of the reins. Behind the cupid is a swan, an animal associated with the Muse of poetry Erato and therefore a reference to amorous lyric poetry. The marble base is decorated with a bow and arrow and two moths, symbol of Psyche, the girl with whom Cupid falls in love in the famous myth.