A Louis XVI à la Junon gilt-bronze mantel clock, circa 1780, the dial by Julien Leroy

This beautiful clock is a very rare model, particularly interesting for its peacock. The association of a woman holding a distaff could represent one of the three Fates, goddesses of Greek mythology who spin, measure and cut the thread of mortal life. The peacock could represent Vigilance and Knowledge of Destiny, the eyes of the peacock's feathers symbolising the Fates' constant surveillance of the threads of life.

Julien Leroy and his son

Julien Le Roy (1686-1759) had the honour of being the only watchmaker to be accepted as a member of the prestigious Société des Arts, of which he was elected president before 1723. In 1739, he was appointed valet de chambre to the King and housed in the Louvre.

The maker of the movement for this clock is undoubtedly Pierre Le Roy (d. 1785), son of Julien. On his father's death in 1759, he took over the workshop and continued to use his father's name as the company name for his products (La dynastie des Le Roy, horlogers du roi, Tours, Musée des Beaux-Arts, 1987, from page 27). Both he and his father worked with important bronze-makers, including Philippe Caffieri (1714-1774).