Shelf Clock with Figure

The gilt bronze mantel clock has a base decorated on the front with phytomorphic foliate motifs and a central floral element, and is supported by elaborate spinning top feet that slender its form. On the base rests a large plinth in which the dial is housed and to the side the figure of a young man leaning on the plinth. The clock’s display in Roman numerals for hours and Arabic for minutes bears the inscriptions at the top “Lu. Lacroix H.er.” and below it the inscription “De S. A. I. Lu Prince Camille, A Turin.” Beneath the dial, in gilt and chiseled bronze,is a panoply with a basket overflowing with fruit and vegetables, above which are crossed a shovel and a lithium and from which hang two rich garlands of vegetables; on the side is a mask with female features within a crown consisting of two cornucopias and laurel branches. On the left of the plinth is depicted a young man wearing a short cassock and a long shovel held between his hands, in a relaxed posture and leaning with his left arm on the clock structure, above which lies a bagpipe. The mechanism isoriginal.to the wind.The quadripartite tops, also made of ribbed walnut, have an almond-shaped reserve in the center with floral decorations that is matched on the inside by two fans and a central roson. The feet are in the shape of a truncated pyramid.