THE HOMECOMING OF LUIGI VALADIER’S CLOCK
Galleria Borghese is pleased to announce the return to its collection of a work of exceptional historical and artistic value: the magnificent Egyptian-style clock created by master Luigi Valadier around 1784 for Prince Marcantonio Borghese. This precious clock, a masterpiece of 18th-century decorative art, has recently been reacquired by the Italian State and has finally returned to its original location, above the porphyry and white marble fireplace in the Room of Hercules (Room 10) on the second floor of the Galleria.
An authentic example of 18th-century decorative art, the piece features a complex architectural structure in Carrara white marble with inlays of precious ancient marbles, including Egyptian red porphyry, pink Aswan granite, grey granite, antique red marble, and Belgian black marble, along with refined gilded bronze elements. The piece still includes its original mechanism, with hour and quarter-hour chimes, which—remarkably—resumed functioning as soon as it returned to the Casino Pinciano. At the center of the base is a small micromosaic diamond created by Cesare Aguatti, a detail documented in the 1784 payment records, which served to identify it as the original clock made for the Borghese family.
Particularly significant are the Egyptian-inspired decorative elements: the telamons on the sides, the vase-shaped sculptures on top, and the frieze with a faux hieroglyphic inscription carved into antique red marble. At the summit, the chariot of the Sun dominates, accompanied by a zodiac in gilded bronze.
The clock is one of three that Luigi Valadier—an internationally renowned silversmith and sculptor—created for the Villa Borghese pavilion at the request of Prince Marcantonio. Its presence is documented in the 1809 inventory and in a drawing made by the Sienese architect Agostino Fantastici during a visit to the villa in 1806. Dispersed during the sale of the Borghese estate at the end of the 19th century, the clock was identified thanks to the in-depth studies of Alvar González-Palacios and its correspondence with historical documents and drawings from Valadier’s workshop, preserved at the Municipal Art Gallery of Faenza.
The return of this extraordinary masterpiece marks an important milestone in the ongoing effort to restore the original appearance of Galleria Borghese following the late 18th-century reorganization—an arrangement that gave the Casino its magnificent character, yet remains underappreciated in the public’s perception. Valadier’s clock is not only an object of extraordinary beauty and technical skill, but also a testament to the refined taste of Prince Marcantonio Borghese and the exceptional heights reached by decorative arts in 18th-century Rome.