Love helps to pass the time clock
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
ca. 1819
This sculptural mantel clock, titled "Love helps to pass the time" ("L'amour fait passer le Temps"), was produced around 1819 in Paris by Nast's porcelain factory. The figure subject is modelled after a sculpture by the French sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon. Executed in white biscuit porcelain with gilt-bronze mounts, the composition depicts a winged Cupid in a boat steering Chronus, the winged personification of time, through choppy waters.
The circular clock dial is set centrally between the figures with a decorative gilt-bronze bezel. The dial bears the inscription "à Paris". The whole sculptural assembly rests upon a porcelain base representing churning waves, mounted over a rectangular gilded bronze plinth supported on small feet.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
The clock is modeled after a sculpture by Jean-Antoine Houdon. Biscuit porcelain was favored by neoclassical sculptors because its unglazed matte surface closely mimics white marble. The piece was later given to the museum by René de l'Hôpital.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- Biscuit porcelain with gilt-bronze mounts
Technical characteristics
- Maker recorded
- Houdon, Jean-Antonine; Nast's porcelain factory
- Place recorded
- Paris
Identification
- Source note
- Transcribed from the Victoria and Albert Museum collection record for this single object; how far it represents a wider collectible type has not been independently verified.
- Museum object name
- Love helps to pass the time
- Museum object number
- C.1437-1924
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.