Mantel clock (pendule) c. 1770 - 1775

This gilded mantel clock was made in Amsterdam by an anonymous artist. The piece demonstrates the neoclassical obsession with antiquity through the use of Greco-Roman aesthetics. The imagery is heavily influenced by the Enlightenment belief that the ancient world was a more enlightened place than 18th-century Europe. The clock is ornamented with classical figures such as Athena. The figure is depicted next to a Roman soldier, both seemingly in their idealized forms. Such objects were commissioned by the wealthy middle class. The fashion for Neoclassical design was a conscious turn away from the frivolous style of the court of Louis XV. In order to better understand the context of an artwork like this one, a historian might consult pattern books, trade records, and historical documents from the period. The historian’s role is to place the object within the social and institutional context of its creation.