The Forgetting of Time, mantel clock late 19th century

Signed: Japy Frères – Médaille d’Honneur
Dimensions: Height 50 cm × Width 34 cm × Depth 16 cm
Materials: Fire-gilt and patinated bronze, “Vert de Mer” marble.

This exceptional Empire-style mantel clock, titled “L’Oubli du Temps” (“The Forgetting of Time”), is a refined 19th-century edition of a celebrated model attributed to Claude Galle (1759–1815), one of the foremost bronziers at the court of Napoleon. This version is signed by Japy Frères (1749-1812) , the innovative clockmakers who, under the direction of Frédéric Japy and his sons from 1806 onwards, played a pioneering role in the industrialisation of French horology.

The clock features a rare and technically sophisticated cercle tournant mechanism, where time is indicated by two rotating enamel rings instead of fixed hands:

The upper ring displays the minutes in 5-minute intervals (Arabic numerals),

The lower ring shows the hours in Roman numerals (I–XII).
This dial format required great precision in both balance and mechanics and was much admired during the Empire and Directoire periods.

The allegorical figure — a classical woman offering a laurel wreath and lifting her draped mantle — stands beside a symbolic stele richly adorned with Empire motifs in gilt bronze, such as the caduceus, laurel wreath, and rosette. Her gesture and the title of the clock allude to the transience of time and memory.

The base is crafted from veined “Vert de Mer” marble, richly decorated with finely chased fire-gilt bronze appliques of winged figures and floral garlands. The whole piece rests on four gilt-bronze ball feet.

Though produced around 1850, the clock convincingly reflects the aesthetic language and symbolism of the First Empire period (ca. 1805–1810). The model was likely reissued by Parisian ateliers such as Lepage et Cie, based on a design by the sculptor Simon-Louis Boizot (1743–1809), known for his close collaboration with Claude Galle and the Sèvres porcelain manufactory.