Around Valentine's Day, and Cupid is on everyone's mind. This mischievous champion of love and his famous arrow have been around for a long time. In fact, Cupid was a very popular subject in France in the 1700s.

When this alcove clock is viewed up close, there are two tiny cupids at the top and an old man at the bottom. The cupids, symbols of love, have stolen the old man's scythe and hourglass, symbols of Father Time. Cupid, the clock's face and Father Time together illustrate sayings that were common during the period, such as "love conquers time" and "love stops time."

Clocks like this were a favorite item of the rich and famous. This one was very "high tech." It had a mechanism that chimed the nearest hour when a string was pulled. It was very handy at night—you could just pull the string instead of going to the trouble of lighting candles to see the time.