A Restauration ormolu mantel clock commemorating the birth of Henri comte de Chambord circa 1820, the dial signed Mesnil, Her. and Ravrio Bronzier à Paris, after a design by J.-A. Reiche

Repairs to the front legs. Oxidation and some tarnish marks to the clock
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.

The clock offered here not only depicts an intimate moment shared between mother and her children but it also a memento of the legitimist Bourbon movement in France during the reign of the Orléans kings in the second quarter of the nineteenth century. The seated woman shown is Marie Caroline Ferdinande Louise de Bourbon, daughter of Francis I of the Two Sicilies and the children are her daughter Louise and son Henri, comte de Chambord. Marie Caroline was born in Naples in1798 and at the age of 18 she married Charles Ferdinand, the younger son of Charles X and took the title of duchesse de Berry. At the time of their wedding Charles Ferdinand, who was considered a central figure of the émigré circles during the Napoleonic era, already had two recognized daughters from an earlier annulled marriage to an English woman whom he had met during his exile in England. In 1819 Marie Caroline also gave birth to a daughter, Louise, who is portrayed in the lot offered kneeling at her mother's feet. Just one year after her birth, the duc de Berry was assassinated in Paris, bringing the direct Bourbon line to an end. However, seven month after his death, the duchesse de Berry gave birth to a healthy boy, giving hope to the Bourbon legitimists who called the newborn a miracle child and entrusted him with the revival of the family tree of Louis XIV. After her son's birth, Marie Caroline, who is shown here attending to Henri, quickly became an important figure of the Bourbon legitimist groups. During the July Revolution in 1830 she and her children were forced to flee France and sought refuge with her family in Naples. During her years in exile under the reign of Louis-Philippe she made unsuccessful attempts from Italy to restore the Bourbon dynasty and make her son King of France. After her efforts proved futile, she first moved to Venice where she married an Italian nobleman and later to Sicily, where she lived a life separate from her Bourbon relatives. She died near Graz, Austria, in 1870. After his mother's death, Henri made several attempts to become king but in 1883 he eventually gave up his fruitless endeavors. He survived his mother by only thirteen years and died in Frohsdorf, Austria in 1883.