ROMANTIC CLOCK REPRESENTING VIRGINIA ON THE SHIP BRINGING HER BACK TO ILE DE FRANCE

An interesting romantic gilt bronze and silver-plated clock depicting Virginie returning from France, on the ship caught in a violent storm. She is wearing a beautiful lace-embroidered dress, an ornament and a veil around her shoulders. A small treasure chest floats in the waves. White enamel dial, encircled by gilded bronze reeds, with Roman numerals for the hours. Openworked hands decorated with flowering branches and clovers. The set rests on a high base veneered with shells and foliate scrolls, and on a base formed by four scrolls adorned with foliage and gadrooned leaves. In the center, the head of Neptune, god of the sea, is represented by a man with a beard and long hair. Paul et Virginie, a novel written by Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre in 1787, tells the story of two children living on the island of France. Although they come from two different families, they are raised as brother and sister. When they reach adolescence, they begin to fall in love. Virginie's mother, Madame de Tour, decided to send her to study in Paris. A few years later, Virginie announces her return to the island, but the ship bringing her back from France is caught in a storm and runs aground on the rocks, causing Paul great grief. He soon succumbs to the pain of losing his beloved. The success of this tragic romance was immense in the late 18th century. The subject was taken up by Romantic artists, both in painting and the decorative arts. Restoration period, Circa: 1830 Dim: W:35cm, D:12cm, H:50cm.