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Clock, 1901–1925 (Siglo XX, primer cuarto) — view 1 of 1
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Clocks · Clock

Clock, 1901–1925 (Siglo XX, primer cuarto)

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.
Maker / attribution
Unrecorded in source
Date
1901–1925 (Siglo XX, primer cuarto)
Country of origin
Unrecorded in source
Place
Suiza
Object type
Clock
Materials / technique
Bronce Porcelana Mármol Vidrio
Dimensions
Reloj: Diámetro = 50 mmRelojera: Altura = 53 cm Anchura = 28 cm
Holding institution
Cerralbo Museum
Accession / object no.
pages_Main_idt_3552_inventary_03551_table_FMUS_museum_MCM
Credit line
Cerralbo Museum
Catalogue title (original)
Reloj (Spanish)

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Record summary

Held and catalogued by Cerralbo Museum (object number pages_Main_idt_3552_inventary_03551_table_FMUS_museum_MCM), this is a clock, made in Suiza, dated 1901–1925 (Siglo XX, primer cuarto). The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: Bronce Porcelana Mármol Vidrio. Recorded dimensions: Reloj: Diámetro = 50 mmRelojera: Altura = 53 cm Anchura = 28 cm. The record is illustrated with 1 photograph.

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

Catalogue description from Cerralbo Museum

Reloj colgante de forma esférica, de cristal macizo que hace efecto de lupa, con la esfera de porcelana blanca. También denominados de bola, estos relojes se utilizaron como pisapapeles por lo que tienen un corte plano para poder asentarlos. También se alojaban en el interior de vitrinas o colgados en relojeras, como en este caso, con forma de templete con cuatro columnas sobre peana, sobre las que se dispone a su vez un águila con las alas explayadas.

Shown in the original language of the source catalogue. An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.

Historical context

Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)

The wristwatch displaces the pocket watch; waterproof cases, self-winding and grand complications.

Between 1900 and 1945 clocks were electrified: master-clock systems ran factories and offices, synchronous mains clocks entered homes, and the Shortt free-pendulum clock set new standards of accuracy before the first quartz clocks (1927). Art Deco design reshaped mantel and table clocks.

Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Industrial Revolution

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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