Meissen porcelain and gilt bronze clock

Rare Louis XV period gilt bronze-mounted clock, composed of a hard-paste Meissen porcelain figure of Harlequin seated on a rock, his legs crossed, wearing a waistcoat decorated with playing cards against a background of colored lozenges and a pointed hat with a green ground, playing the bagpipes with both hands. The figure is set within a surround of chased and gilt bronze foliage adorned with porcelain flowers, resting on an elaborate pierced Rocaille base.
Porcelain model by Johann Joachim Kändler (1706–1775)
Paris mount and movement
Circa 1740–1750
The model of the Meissen porcelain bagpipe player is mentioned in Johann Joachim Kändler’s work records in July 1736: “Einen Arlequin mit dem Tutel Sack aufs Lage/; geändert und zum abformen tüchtig gemacht” [trans.: Harlequin with a bagpipe/; modified and adapted for molding]. The subject derives from the Commedia dell’arte, which remained a major theme in Meissen sculpture.