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This typical French mantel clock of the mid-19th century was likely purchased to furnish the new House wing when it opened in 1857. The clockworks were made by Jean Vincenti & Company, a Paris firm. The clock’s case, too, marks it as European. Greek and Roman mythological scenes were popular in France at the time, and on this example, a chubby young faun reaches toward bare-chested Bacchus, the god of wine, who reclines against the clockface and fills his cup from a sizable pitcher.
History, Art & Archives, U.S. House of Representatives, “Mantel Clock,” https://history.house.gov/Collection/Listing/2016/2016-232-000/ (August 11, 2022)
Office of the Historian
Office of Art and Archives
Attic, Thomas Jefferson Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
(202) 226-1300
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