Clocks · Clock
Clock by Ignaz Bruder, Germany, 1800–1899
- Maker / attribution
- Ignaz Bruder (creator)
- Date
- 1800–1899
- Historical period
- Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
- Country of origin
- Germany
- Place
- Germany
- Object type
- Clock
- Holding institution
- Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe
- Accession / object no.
- item_C7FAYKXVTDE4AJSX2TREMDS2WFV6K63S
- Catalogue title (original)
- Flötenuhr mit Figurenspiel (German)
Record summary
Held and catalogued by Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe (object number item_C7FAYKXVTDE4AJSX2TREMDS2WFV6K63S), this is a clock by Ignaz Bruder, made in Germany, dated 1800–1899. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Clocks collection. 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 Badisches Landesmuseum Karlsruhe (German)
Die Standuhr besitzt neben einem Uhrwerk zusätzlich ein mechanisches Flötenwerk und eine Stiftwalze. Bei diesen Flötenuhren stehen Zeitmessung und Musikwiedergabe noch gleichwertig nebeneinander. Die Uhr gibt acht anwählbare Musiktitel wieder, die zu den bekannten Tänzen der Zeit gehörten. Sie werden zur vollen Stunde angespielt, sind aber auch wie in einer "Musikbox" jederzeit abrufbar. Die Flötenuhren wurden von Ignaz Blasius Bruder (1780-1845) konstruiert. Zum Markenzeichen von Bruders Flötenuhren und Drehorgeln wurde die reiche Ausstattung mit Figuren. Das Figurenprogramm dieser Flötenuhr spielt wahrscheinlich auf den Wiener Kongress (1814-15) an, auf die Unterzeichnung der Schlussakte und auf das populäre Bild des Kongresses als "Diplomatie im Ballsaal". Uniformierte und Musiker flankieren Tänzer und Herren in Staatsfräcken, die um einen Tisch mit Dokumenten gruppiert sind. In der obersten Nische sitzt eine Frau am Spinett zwischen zwei Uniformierten. Das Schattenrissporträt auf dem Spieltisch des Spinetts stellt möglicherweise Großherzog Karl von Baden (1786-1818) dar.
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 An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.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.
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