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1890s White Marble French Clock Candelabra Set — view 1 of 4
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Clocks · Clock

1890s White Marble French Clock Candelabra Set

DocumentedDocumented from an auction catalogue; attribution as stated by the auction house.
Maker / attribution
Unrecorded in source
Date
1890s
Country of origin
France
Object type
Clock
Materials / technique
marble
Lot
Item 139887752
Credit line
Auction lot record: lot 3289, Cars, Motorcycles, Clocks, Watches, Horse, Donley Auctions (2022), via LiveAuctioneers
Catalogue title (original)
1890s White Marble French Clock Candelabra Set (English)

View the source record (auction lot) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction

Record summary

Catalogued by LiveAuctioneers auction archive (lot Item 139887752), this is a clock, made in France, dated 1890s. The Atlas places it in the Industrial Revolution period (1850 – 1900) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: marble. The record is illustrated with 4 photographs.

Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.

Catalogue description

Lot description — Donley Auctions

This is a rare antique 19th century 3 piece French Victorian fancy white marble mantel shelf clock set with matching garniture candelabras. Circa 1890s. The clock measures 16" x 10" x 6" . Mint overall condition; heavy well built set. It has a brass footed Victorian white marble case supported by white marble pillar columns with brass accents. Fancy brass finials and bass trim, Absolutely Stunning!!! Beautiful porcelain dial with painted floral flower drape with an ornate fancy gold gilt accented heavy glass bezel. Has a matching pair of brass footed Victorian white marble garnitures with center finials. The matching garnitures carry some light edge nicks and discoloration patina is present. A stunning Rare Clock Set. Hard to find with original side pieces. See Photos. Starts up but does not keep proper time over an extended period of time.

Historical context

Industrial Revolution (1850 – 1900)

American interchangeable-parts manufacture; railroad time standards; Swiss and German factory systems.

Factory production transformed the clock into an everyday object. American makers (Seth Thomas, Ansonia, Waterbury) and German factories (Junghans, Gustav Becker, Lenzkirch) sold millions of shelf, wall and alarm clocks worldwide; France produced standardised Paris movements and carriage clocks; electric time distribution began.

Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Precision & Scientific Horology

Atlas type guide

Domestic clocks

A clock combines four systems: a source of power (falling weight, coiled spring, or later electricity), a gear train that divides time, an escapement and oscillator that regulate it (foliot, pendulum or balance), and an indicating system of dial and hands or a bell. Its history runs from the large iron weight-driven clocks of the late thirteenth century to Renaissance spring-driven table clocks, the pendulum revolution of 1656, the factory clocks of the nineteenth century and electric and quartz clocks of the twentieth.

Domestic clocks also reflect regional furniture and decorative traditions — English longcase and bracket clocks, French pendules, Viennese regulators, Black Forest and American shelf clocks — and therefore record changing tastes as much as technical progress.

What to look for

  • How the clock is powered: weights, spring barrel, fusee, electric coil.
  • The oscillator: foliot, short pendulum, long seconds pendulum or balance.
  • Whether it strikes: hour only (count wheel) or hours and quarters (rack striking).
  • The maker or retailer's name on dial and movement, and any factory trademarks.
  • Signs of alteration — replaced dials, converted escapements, 'married' cases.

Dating clues

  • Before 1656 clocks used foliots or balances; after, most domestic clocks have pendulums.
  • Anchor escapements spread after c. 1670; minute hands became common at the same time.
  • Factory production in America and Germany transformed prices after c. 1840.

General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.

Read next:Verge escapementAnchor (recoil) escapementFoliot

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