Mantel Clock: Venus Clipping the Wings of Cupid

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Mantel Clock: Venus Clipping the Wings of Cupid

Place of OriginFrance

Dateabout 1770-1775

DimensionsH: 18 3/4 in.; L: 16 1/4 in.; Depth: 7 in.

MediumGilt-bronze, enameled dial

ClassificationMetalwork

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Florence Scott Libbey Bequest in Memory of her Father, Maurice A. Scott

Object number

1960.17

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 27

Label TextThe subject of this charming mantel clock is Venus, goddess of love and beauty, tampering with the ability of her son, Cupid, to strike the unsuspecting with his arrows of love and infatuation. Though now missing, Venus once held scissors in her left hand that she uses to clip Cupid’s wings, quite literally grounding him. The theme suggests a kind of vicarious revenge for the heartache of love gone wrong.