1726 - Empire-style figure pendulum clock “The Night Prayer,” bronze, finely chased and fire-gilded. Set on a horizontally rectangular, front-curved base resting on baluster feet, this piece features an intimate scene depicting the Duchess of Berry in her nightgown while nursing her son, the future Duke of Bordeaux. Kneeling before her is her young daughter Louise, saying her night prayer, alongside a realistically rendered baby cradle. The back features an architecturally structured clock case, flanked by integrated caryatids. The front is entirely covered with opulent drapery. The enamel dial, framed by a profile and minimally decorated, is marked “Roy Hger de S.A. Set Rte Madame.” Pendulum movement with string suspension and half-hour chime on a bell. H. 40 cm. 30 cm x 16 cm.

Empire-style figure pendulum clock “The Night Prayer,” bronze, finely chased and fire-gilded. Set on a horizontally rectangular, front-curved base resting on baluster feet, this piece features an intimate scene depicting the Duchess of Berry in her nightgown while nursing her son, the future Duke of Bordeaux. Kneeling before her is her young daughter Louise, saying her night prayer, alongside a realistically rendered baby cradle. The back features an architecturally structured clock case, flanked by integrated caryatids. The front is entirely covered with opulent drapery. The enamel dial, framed by a profile and minimally decorated, is marked “Roy Hger de S.A. Set Rte Madame.” Pendulum movement with string suspension and half-hour chime on a bell. H. 40 cm. 30 cm x 16 cm. The inspiration for the design of this pendulum clock was the birth of the young Henri de Berry in 1820, whose fate as “L’enfant du miracle”—seven months after the fatal assassination of his father, the Duke of Berry—moved the entire nation and, due to the boy’s legitimate claim to the French throne, also held great political significance. See Niehüser, p. 165. A French gilt bronze Empire mantel clock. Dial minimally damaged. Strikes the half-hour on a bell. France. Paris. Circa 1820.