The Toilette of Venus
last quarter 18th century
Medium
Case: gilded bronze and marble; Dial: gilded bronze and white enamel; Movement: brass and steel
Dimensions
Overall: 19 3/8 × 14 × 10 1/2 in. (49.2 × 35.6 × 26.7 cm)
Classification
Horology
Culture
French, Paris
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Edith C. Blum, (et al.) Executors, in memory of Mr. and Mrs. Albert Blum, 1966
Accession Number
66.28.2
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the opulent world of 18th-century French decorative arts with *The Toilette of Venus*, a exquisite clock crafted by renowned sculptor Étienne-Maurice Falconet in the last quarter of the. Falconet, a master of Rococo sculpture celebrated for his graceful, playful forms, transformed this functional timepiece into a mythological tableau. Depicting the goddess Venus at her toilette attended by the mischievous Cupid, the work embodies the era's fascination with classical antiquity reimagined through lavish luxury. Housed in a case of gilded bronze and veined marble, with a dial of gilded...