A magnificent French Directoire period mantel clock in two tone fire/mercury gilded ormolu of the finest quality which we can confidently attribute to one of Napoleon Bonaparte's favourite bronzier's Claude Galle. The subject is that of Venus sitting on a day bed with cupid cradled in her arm while he reaches out to her. As one of the exceptional clocks by Galle this one as well as being of the highest quality is substantially over engineered as far as early 19th century French clocks go. It's construction is far more elaborate and robust than most mantel clocks of this period. Superb casting and finishing coupled with outstanding original gilding has produced an outstanding clock. Signed on the white convex enamel dial "a Paris". 8 day bell striking movement with silk suspension. Original springs signed by the famous spring maker Monginot and dated to the month Floreal An 13 or May 1805, a matter of 3 months before Napoleon signed the edict re-establishing the Gregorian calendar to France. An identical version can be seen in "Encyclopedie de La Pendule Francaise" by Pierre Kjellberg pp. 393. 21 inches high by 13 inches wide and 6.75 inches deep ( 52.5 cms by 32 cms by 17 cms). I have now cleaned the ormolu .