Fine antique French Empire ormolu and marble mantle clock of Zephyr and Erigone after a model by Thomire. This is an exquisite model with altogether sublime casting and finishing, the figures beautifully modelled and with the ormolu in pristine, original but as yet uncleaned condition. The two figures are of the winged youth Zephyr, naked except for a cloak tied at his waist, who is about to crown the beautiful Erigone with a wreath of flowers. Erigone is sitting on a rock, which is covered by a lion's pelt and she is partly covered by it but holds up a bunch of grapes to Zephyr and holds a chalice in her hand. They noth lean on the clock case and there is a massive and intricate fruiting grape vine behind them. To the top of the clock case surmounted by a pine cone finial and inscribed 'Zephir precede Bachus au coeur d'Erigone et de plaisir ses sens emus elle dit "ah Zephir me Couronne"'. From below the clock face can be seen, in silvered bronze, a flow of water. The six sided ormolu base with to the front a fabulous freize in high relief of eight dancing maidens holding grapes and wreaths with a figure of Cupid between them. To the front corners are inset, within a diamond shaped panel, superbly casrt ormolu mounts of butterflies buzzing over vines. To each end of the base are applied magnificent ormolu mounts of vines to each side of a lyre and to the lower corners of the mounts crossed trumpets within a wreath. The base stands upon six hairy griffin feet above a similarly shaped verd antico marble base. The convex white enamel dial with Roman hour numerals and blued steel Breguet style moon hands is surrounded by an exceptionally fine ormolu bezel with concentric circles of decorative beading, grapes and vine leaves and Acanthus leaf. The movement is of eight day duration, striking the hours and halves upon a cast bell by means of a countwheel and all regulated by a silk suspended pendulum. France circa 1805. 20.5 inches high by 16.5 inches wide by 7 inches deep ( 52 cm by 41.5 cm by 17.5 cm). An identical clock with a two marble bases rather than one and very slightly smaller is illustrated in "Encyclopedie de La Pendule Francaise " by Pierre Kjellberg pp. 339. That one has the same mounts although the one illustrated in k#Kjellbergs book does not have the palm trees to either side of the dancing maidens in the freize inset in the base. Nor does it have the stream of water below the dial in silvered bronze.