Pendule à poser “Le Temps prêt à trancher le fil de la vie”
Charles Balthazar (av. 1700-1773), horloger
Attribué à Jacques Confesseur, fondeur
Époque Louis XV (1715-1774), vers 1745/1749
Bronze fondu, ciselé et doré, cadran émaillé, verre
Don de Michel Leclercq en souvenir d’Yvette Laurent née Masson et de Jean-Claude Leclercq, 2014
Inv. 2014.112.7
© MAD, Paris / photo : Jean Tholance
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This clock shows the popularity of gilt bronze in the decorative arts during the reign of Louis XV. Power and delicacy are closely combined here. Dominating the composition, the figure of Time is represented by a winged old man, nude, holding a scythe. He is pulling towards himself a drapery being held in vain by two putti, revealing the figure of a young nude woman, raising an arm in a gesture of fear. Symbolically, he is preparing to cut the thread of Life when the hour comes.