Antique French Directoire period bisque and ormolu mantel clock depicting Ariadne. Of fine quality with sky blue and white bisque porcelain and beautifully contrasting and finely cast mounts of totally original ormolu . Ariadne sits upon a plinth and spins her silk. From the lion's mask set into the plinth a fountain streams into a scallop shaped ormolu dish. The case with floral swags to each side and bisque porcelain flowers sitting in ormolu urns to each side of Ariadne. The base, standing upon ormolu toupee feet, has canted corners with applied ormolu mounts of Anthemion and the front of the base a large ormolu mount of doves drinking from a tazza. The white convex enamel dial with superbly shaped and original blued steel hands is surrounded by an ormolu bezel. The movement is of 8 day duration striking the hours and halves on a bell. Ariadne was the daughter of Minos II the King of Crete. She fell in love with Theseus, who was shut up in the labyrinth to be devoured by the Minotaur. She laid a silk thread so that he could extricate himself. After he had defeated the Minotaur he carried her away and married her as he had promised to do. He abandoned her at the island of Naxos although he had already made her pregnant. According to some Bacchus loved her after she had been abandoned by Theseus and apart from more children gave her a crown of seven stars which after her death was made a constellation. France circa 1800-04. 16.4 inches high by 9.6 inches wide by 4.2 inches deep (41cm by 24 cm by 10.5 cm).