Clock as Tribute to Napoleon

This magnificent work of art and technology abounds with motifs from classic and Egyptian mythology. Egypt is celebrated through the superb bronze on top which depicts a River God of the Nile with a horn of plenty, reclining on a sphinx and surrounded by putti playing with crocodiles. This is based on a famous ancient Roman marble of the Nile. It was much admired by Napoleon, and like the companion figure of the Tiber, it was seized by France and installed in Paris to great acclaim in 1803. Exotic Egyptian imagery is further reflected in the tortoise-form automaton feet of the clock case, whose heads move in and out, and in the elegant tapering Egyptian female caryatids on the base. The cornice mounts contain dolphins and Nereids (sea nymphs). The front niches contain classical figures, the side panels contain winged horses, trumpet-blowing putti and swans. The front contains a fountain, with automaton glass simulating water issuing from a mask.

The enamel portrait of Napoleon at the center of the pedestal depicts him in the gold-embroidered scarlet uniform of the First Consul, to which he was appointed in 1800. Napoleon is crowned by winged angels, while below is the eagle, a symbol indelibly linked with him as Emperor. The mahogany pedestal is inset with a frieze of Apollo in his chariot, who bears a resemblance to Napoleon. The exceptional quality of the bronzes and cabinetry of the pedestal indicate the work of Jacob Frères, Napoleon and Josephine’s favorite cabinetmakers.

The dial has raised gilt and jeweled decoration in the manner of Coteau. The outer band has individual cartouches painted with signs of the zodiac. An annular calendar ring is signed Inv.t fec.t J. A. Cave with a blue steel solar equation hand with a sunburst.

The movement is a testament to the finest technology of its time: deadbeat escapement, precision calibration, temperature-compensating gridiron pendulum, and remontoire (to keep the motive force even). The clock strikes the quarter hours on three nested bells. The organ in the plinth has a wooden pinned barrel and twenty-three pipes.

The glory of Napoleon’s achievements could not be better represented than this tribute. The French looked to Napoleon to restore order after the chaos following the French Revolution. Napoleon brought a more centralized and authoritarian republican government to France. Some of the institutions established during this critical period were longstanding, leading some historians to consider the Consulate period the most important era of French history.