A patinated bronze and gilt bronze Africa clock, with a panther and a tortoise, resting on an oblong base with side recesses adorned with a frieze of children; (restorations). The dial signed by Thiery in Paris. Consulate period. H. 47cm, W. 37cm, D. 14cm Along with the pendule à l'Amérique, this model from the very late 18th or early 19th century remains one of the most emblematic of the so-called "au sauvage" clocks, the fashion for which did not end until the Restoration. In literature, it is echoed by François-René de Chateaubriand in his Atala, Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint Pierre and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, to name but a few. The first example of this vogue came in 1784, when watchmaker Furet delivered an automaton clock with a Negress head to Queen Marie-Antoinette (private collection). Bronzemaker Jean-Simon Deverberie later specialized in this theme, and by the early 19th century had produced a large number of more picturesque subjects. He registered the design for this model as early as 1799, and also produced it with a larger arched base. An identical clock was sold at Fauves on December 8, 2016, lot 9.