The Aeneid, French Empire Mantel clock

Mantel clock in finely chiseled and mercury-gilded bronze and green Gracia antique marble, depicting a young poet, probably Virgil, contemplating the bust of Homer resting on a green marble case containing the mechanism, the dial signed Ravrio Bronzier à Paris/Mesnil Hger. The whole thing rests on a rectangular base with a bronze bas-relief depicting Virgil reading the Aeneid in front of Augustus and Livia, while in the background Octavia, Augustus' sister, faints upon hearing the verses in which the poet speaks of her son, Marcellus. France. Period: First Empire. Dimensions HxWxD: 67x43x18 cm.