Clock surround "Gomes"

Extraordinary for its scale and function, this piece was used as a surround for the clock in the shop of publisher Manuel Gomes, on Rua Garrett, Lisbon. It was commissioned from the artist, who drew inspiration from the maritime references of The Lusiads, by the 16th-century poet Luís de Camões. The glazed pottery waves are populated by tritons and a mermaids, beings from classical mythology, to which the artist’s fantastical imagination added a couple of lobsters and a dolphin. Soaring above the scene, an eagle carries a female figure, who once clutched a lit torch and an undulating ribbon bearing a fragment of the verse: “[My song] shall spread where ever...” - which are sadly now missing. The clock face was set in the circular opening. The Renaissance flavour of the iconography and the epic composition reveal Rafael Bordalo’s nationalist zeal. It is worth noting the quality of the modelling and the colour, particularly in the festoons of seaweed and shells. Piece donated to the museum by the publisher, in 1962.