A clock made during the period of the Directory in France (1795 - 1800). The Revolution had caused a break in the clockmaking tradition but, encouraged by the government, it resumed after the re-establishment of stable rule. Gilt-metal cases, especially with decorative figures incorporated, continued to have the greatest popularity, the style becoming heavier and neoclassical elements displaying a worthy correctness of detail. Clocks with Negro figures clearly derived from the debate over slavery, and from confused idealisation of the 'noble savage', while clocks showing figures in Roman attire often pointed to the republican ideal. At the same time small astronomical regulators like four-glass clocks and skeleton clocks of similar visual austerity were being developed.