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Clock by Nils Berg, Sweden, 1760–1769 — view 1 of 2
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Clocks · Clock

Clock by Nils Berg, Sweden, 1760–1769

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.
Maker / attribution
Nils Berg (Maker)
Date
1760–1769
Country of origin
Sweden
Place
Sverige Stockholm Stockholm Stockholm
Object type
Clock
Materials / technique
Glas
Dimensions
Bredd 29.0 cm
Holding institution
Nordic Museum Foundation
Accession / object no.
NM.0034371A
Credit line
Nordic Museum Foundation
Catalogue title (original)
Pendyl (Swedish)

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Record summary

Held and catalogued by Nordic Museum Foundation (object number NM.0034371A), this is a clock by Nils Berg, made in Sverige Stockholm Stockholm Stockholm, Sweden, dated 1760–1769. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: Glas. Recorded dimensions: Bredd 29.0 cm. The record is illustrated with 2 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

Catalogue description from Nordic Museum Foundation

Konsolur, rokoko, omkring 1760-tal, fodral av trä målat i sköldpaddsimitation med blad och kvistar i guld. Dekorationsmåleri även på fodralets baksida. Beslag av förgylld brons. Urtavlan signerad Nils Berg (verksam i Stockholm 1751-1794). Konsol, se NM.0034371B. /Anna Arfvidsson Womack 2021 En del bordsur från perioden har likt detta en elegant dekor även på baksidan vilket antyder en placering framför en spegel. /Anna Arfvidsson Womack 2021

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 An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.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