Delicately chased gilt bronze clock, partially painted, depi - Lot 215

Delicately chased gilt bronze clock, partially painted, depicting a couple dressed "à la turque", and richly decorated with foliage, scrolls and florets. The feet, adorned with water leaves, rest on an oval rosewood base covered with a globe. Dial signed (illegible) France Height: 52 cm; Width: 42 cm; Depth: 12.5 cm The theme of the clock is taken from The Giaour, a fragment of a Turkish Tale, an English poem by Lord Byron published in May 1813, which recounts the thwarted love affair between a Venetian, the Giaour - a term by which Turks designate infidels, particularly Christians - and Leila, a slave belonging to the seraglio of Hassan, military leader of a Turkish province. When Leila's treachery is discovered, she is thrown into the sea and her lover avenges her by killing Hassan, who then takes refuge in a monastery. This philhellenic movement affecting the West found a particular echo in France, one of the countries along with the UK and Russia that supported the Greeks during their war of independence (1821-1830) to free themselves from the grip of the Ottoman Empire. Numerous clocks were made, highlighting the courage of the fighters, celebrating the heroes of this war of independence and exalting national sentiment, or drawing inspiration from contemporary literature evoking these events.