A wooden frame with velvet cover and gold-leaf edges surrounds the mechanical tableau and clock. The paper board scene depicts the local knife-grinder at a grinding stone, honing a knife while his faithful dog looks on. The painting is superbly rendered with details including a characterized face, scarf tucked into pocket, wisps of hair under the well-worn hat. A porcelain-faced clock is set into the background. The clock, signed Tharin a Paris, has suspension springs pendulum, and string hours and half hours. The tableau mechanism is completely original. The musical movement is wound separately from the outside.
Movements: The man nods his head, his hand holds with knife to the grinding wheel, his arm moves up and down, his leg pumps the wheel and his foot moves up and down. The dog moves up and down.
Historical References: An unusual subject matter for Tharin depicting a simple occupational theme. The simplicity of the piece, yet housed in a fine frame with clock, suggests that it may have been a specially commissioned presentation pieve for a prestige knife store or its owner. During the 19th century knives were a serious affair, and, in France, an important industry. The village of Thiers, for example, had already been making knives for more than 300 years. Its nearby village of Laguiole became famous for their capuchado knife in the early 1800s, (which the knife in this scene resembles) and other notable knives were the Auberac, Vendetta and Roquefort.