Pedestal Clock, c.1720 (carcass of oak with veneer of tortoiseshell, tortoiseshell and brass marquetry, and...

This monumental clock is one of four early eighteenth-century "Clocks of the Four Continents," so named because of the sumptuous gilt-bronze half-length figures—representing Africa, Europe, Asia, and America—surrounding the face. A gilt-bronze plaque on the pedestal shows Hercules relieving Atlas of the weight of the world. The case and pedestal are attributed to André-Charles Boulle, who popularized the technique of tortoiseshell and metal marquetry at the French court. The enameled plaque below the dial is inscribed "Julien Le Roy"; he provided the works for the clock.