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Clock by Escuela Francesa, 1801–1833 — view 1 of 1
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Clocks · Clock

Clock by Escuela Francesa, 1801–1833

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.
Maker / attribution
Escuela Francesa (Maker)
Date
1801–1833
Country of origin
Unrecorded in source
Place
París
Object type
Clock
Materials / technique
Bronce Mármol Estuco
Dimensions
Altura = 90 cm
Holding institution
Lázaro Galdiano Museum
Accession / object no.
pages_Main_idt_132556_inventary_08434_table_FMUS_museum_MLGM
Credit line
Lázaro Galdiano Museum
Catalogue title (original)
Reloj - Reloj (Spanish)

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Record summary

Held and catalogued by Lázaro Galdiano Museum (object number pages_Main_idt_132556_inventary_08434_table_FMUS_museum_MLGM), this is a clock by Escuela Francesa, made in París, dated 1801–1833. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: Bronce Mármol Estuco. Recorded dimensions: Altura = 90 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 Lázaro Galdiano Museum

Reloj de sobremesa en mármol y bronce. Grupo de Cupido y Psique sobre pedestal con reloj de mármol. Plinto de mármol y estuco con guarnición de bronce fundido y dorado, patas de garras y guirnalda. El movimiento del reloj está firmado en la platina LESIEUR

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 An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.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

Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)

Harrison solves longitude; Mudge invents the lever; Breguet's Paris workshop defines the modern watch.

The age of the deadbeat escapement, compensated pendulums and observatory regulators. Domestic clocks spread through the middle classes: English longcase and bracket clocks, French gilt-bronze mantel clocks, Viennese Biedermeier wall clocks, Black Forest painted-shield clocks, and the first American shelf clocks.

Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Early Modern 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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