Marie-Antoinette's clock
Image: Oil on canvas by Alexander Kucharsky 1792
The video on the next page contains excerpts from the film "The last 76 days of Queen Marie-Antoinette" from arteTV.
Duration: 4:15 minutes
Marie-Antoinette's clock
The clock was built in 1785 for the birth of Charles de Bourbon, Duke of Normandy. On the left is the coat of arms of the mother Marie Antoinette (Habsburg and Lorraine), on the right the coat of arms of the father, the French king Louis XVI. Louis Charles became heir to the throne (Dauphin de Viennois) through the death of his older brother in 1789. The monarchists listed him as Louis XVII, although he was never crowned king. After the death of his father Louis XVI in January 1793 and his mother Marie Antoinette in October 1793, he joined the shoemaker Anton Simon, a Jacobin who was supposed to raise him to be a good citizen. After Simon was also executed, the child lived alone in Temple Prison and died in 1795 at the age of 10. Twenty years later, Louis XVIII was crowned king, a brother of Louis XVI.
Description
White marble base with four bronze-fire-gilded feet. Bronze appliqués: leaf ornaments, scales with sword, Napoleon's ax, leaf ornament with hand mirror. On the base (from left to right) eagle with bell, angel with trombone on bronze base, bronze putti on white marble base under bronze canopy, fish with cornucopia (bronze), Gallic rooster with bourbon lilies on shield (bronze). A bronze cloud above the canopy. On four colored marble columns (with a bronze base and bronze chapter, bronze Bourbon lilies as a conclusion on a pedestal) a white marble arch with flower ornaments (bronze). Under the clockwork bay leaves, right and left flags, crown with falcon, rosary, leaf branches and Napoleon torch. Front bezel with domed glass and bronze pearl rim, dial with Roman numerals and Arabic minute indications, hand-chased hands with bourbon lily, lifts for movement and striking mechanism. Back bezel made of smooth glass, blue steel bell and striking mechanism visible. White and colored marble, fire-gilded bronze, gilded brass drum, lever mechanism with short pendulum (thread suspension), movement and striking mechanism (blue steel bell), lock disc with star-shaped spoke.
