A Louis XVI ormolu, patinated bronze and rouge royal marble mantel clock circa 1785, the dial signed Collard a Paris

the cylindrical ormolu case surmounted by an ormolu kneeling faun and a pair of doves and supported by an ormolu and slate plinth fitted with an ormolu plaque depicting putti making music, the plinth flanked by patinated bronze figures of women and ormolu figures of a winged putti on each side, raised on a rectangular marble base with convex ends centered by an ormolu frieze depicting putti in play, raised on ormolu toupie feet.  

With some traces of oxidation, surface dirt and some rubbing to ormolu. Patinated bronze with some rubbing; not extensive. Dial with very minor chip to enamel at one winding hole. Marble with minor chips' not extensive. Marble base lacking an ormolu tassle on back on each side. In good overall condition.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

A Directoire ormolu, griotte and Dinan black marble clock with a movement by Revel and a dial by Dubuisson from a private collection, mounted with the same figures of women and winged putti executed in Sèvres biscuit porcelain as this clock is illustrated Jean-Dominique Augard, Les Ouvriers du Temps, 1997, p. 44, fig. 28. Similarly to the present lot, that clock's case is also surmounted by an ormolu figure; a winged putto in a chariot drawn by doves. The groups on the sides of that clock and the clock offered here are actually two separate scenes with different narratives. The group on the left is entitled La Leçon de l'Amour, while the one on the right is called La Leçon à l'Amour: Love's Lesson and the Lesson to Love. As the clock with the porcelain figures is surmounted with a putto and the present clock with a mischievous faun, the overall messages of the two pieces could be understood as those of sacred and profane love, respectively.