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Clock by Volkstedt [Fábrica de Johann Karl Ens], 1900–1927 — view 1 of 1
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Clocks · Clock

Clock by Volkstedt [Fábrica de Johann Karl Ens], 1900–1927

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.
Maker / attribution
Volkstedt [Fábrica de Johann Karl Ens] (case)
Date
1900–1927
Country of origin
Unrecorded in source
Place
Rudolstadt - Volkstedt Inglaterra
Object type
Clock
Materials / technique
Porcelana Esmalte Vedrío Strass Vidrio Esmalte Latón Acero
Dimensions
Altura = 42 cm Anchura = 26 cm Profundidad = 22 cm
Accession / object no.
pages_Main_idt_4254_inventary_CE04237_table_FMUS_museum_MNAD
Credit line
National Museum of Decorative Arts
Catalogue title (original)
Reloj de sobremesa (Spanish)

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Record summary

Held and catalogued by National Museum of Decorative Arts (object number pages_Main_idt_4254_inventary_CE04237_table_FMUS_museum_MNAD), this is a clock by Volkstedt [Fábrica de Johann Karl Ens], made in Rudolstadt - Volkstedt Inglaterra, dated 1900–1927. 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: Porcelana Esmalte Vedrío Strass Vidrio Esmalte Latón Acero. Recorded dimensions: Altura = 42 cm Anchura = 26 cm Profundidad = 22 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 National Museum of Decorative Arts

Reloj de sobremesa con formas neoclasicistas, apoyado en peana oval recortada. La caja del reloj rectangular dispuesto verticalmente. En su lado frontal, aparecen dos figuras: figura masculina de pie tocando la citara junto a una figura femenina sentada a su lado. La caja de reloj aparece con moldura sobresaliente y está rematada por pequeña ánfora en lo alto. La peana se compone por partes cóncavas alternando con convexas. Sus lados, salvo la parte trasera, con perfilados cóncavos. Sobre fondo blanco, adornados por decoración en bajorrelieve dorada. Lado frontal de la caja del reloj con esfera enmarcada por decoración en bajorrelieve, toques de esmalte en color rosa y verde. En la parte inferior de la esfera, decoración en relieve dorado sobre fondo blanco. Sus cantos laterales hacia la moldura con dos cabezas de carnero en relieve moldeadas. En su lado frontal hacia la peana, la caja de reloj se extiende formando un banco. En éste, dos figuras policromadas con esmaltes de colores amarillo claro, rosa, azul claro, azul, beige, púrpura, marrón, verde y color de piel. Efectos dorados en ocasiones. Lado trasero plano y sin decoración. Esfera del reloj de porcelana con cubierta blanca. Marcado por un borde de latón dorado. Cubierto además por cristal redondo a la izquierda unida con el borde de latón con una charnela. El cristal, en marco de latón adornado por contario u orla de pequeños cristales en talla brillante. Esfera con dobles cifras: las romanas esmaltadas en azul (horas), las arábigas en negro (minutos). Agujas de metal, posiblemente latón, caladas. En el lado trasero, pequeño cristal redondo en marco de latón dorado. Unida con la parte de porcelana con una charnela.

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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