Mantel clock (pendule de chiminée) 1732 - 1755

This mantel clock was crafted by Paul Gudin Le Jeune in the 18th century. Notice how the clock’s face is integrated into a tree laden with porcelain flowers, a symbolic connection between time and nature. Below, figures enact a scene of courtship, with a kneeling man and an exotic, orientalized attendant. Kissing the hand is a motif with a long lineage, from ancient rituals of respect to medieval displays of fealty and courtly love. It signifies a profound gesture of submission and devotion. But what happens when a symbol becomes mere decor? How does its psychological weight shift? The presence of this ancient gesture here, now as an adornment on a clock, speaks volumes about the secularization of once-sacred rituals, a transformation deeply embedded in our collective memory. What was once charged with intense meaning is transformed into a fleeting moment.