Rare early French Empire ormolu mantel clock from the Commerce and Blackamoor pendule au Negre series. This lovely clock is of very small size. A boy sailor with curly hair, rolled up sleeves and holding a ship's anchor stands beside a bale of cotton or perhaps tobacco. On the top of the bale is a pouch ( presumably of money) with a stack of coins next to it with a flamboyant hat with feather resting on top. Applied to the base is a fine ormolu mount showing a putti at a counting house desk writing in a ledger with a pouch of money in front of him. To the left is a stylised galley being loaded by another putti with bales and barrels, again with an anchor visible. The convex white enamel dial with Roman hour chapters and blued steel hands. The dial is surrounded by a fine ormolu bezel. The early movement is of eight day duration and strikes the hours and halves on a bell using the countwheel system. The timekeeping is regulated by a silk suspended pendulum. This type of model is usually seen with a blackamoor and are always early 19th century. Another model associated with commerce is that of Hope where the figure representing Pandora sits with one leg on an anchor fluke while holding an open and empty box. The last thing out of Pandora's box was Hope. France circa 1810. 10.75inches tall ( 21.875 cm).