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Clock by Raingo Frères [Casa comercial], 1840[ca]-1850[ca] (Mediados del siglo XI — view 1 of 1
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Clocks · Clock

Clock by Raingo Frères [Casa comercial], 1840[ca]-1850[ca] (Mediados del siglo XI

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.
Maker / attribution
Raingo Frères [Casa comercial] (Maker)
Date
c. 1840–1850 (mid-19th century)
Country of origin
Unrecorded in source
Place
París
Object type
Clock
Materials / technique
Madera Carey Latón Bronce Vidrio Porcelana
Dimensions
Altura = 107 cm Anchura = 52 cm Profundidad = 21 cm
Accession / object no.
pages_Main_idt_14332_inventary_CE7392_table_FMUS_museum_MNR
Credit line
National Museum of Romanticism
Catalogue title (original)
Reloj (Spanish)

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Record summary

Held and catalogued by National Museum of Romanticism (object number pages_Main_idt_14332_inventary_CE7392_table_FMUS_museum_MNR), this is a clock by Raingo Frères [Casa comercial], made in París, dated c. 1840–1850 (mid-19th century). The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: Madera Carey Latón Bronce Vidrio Porcelana. Recorded dimensions: Altura = 107 cm Anchura = 52 cm Profundidad = 21 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 Romanticism

Reloj de sobremesa. Maquinaria del tipo París. Motor a resorte con ocho días de cuerda. Escape de áncora con péndulo compensado de varillas. Suspensión de cuchilla, sonería de horas y medias, por sistema de rueda contadera, sobre campana. Caja de madera de caoba de formato rectangular y contorno sinuoso en marquetería Boulle, con guarnición de bronce dorado y cùpula rematada con un amorcillo que porta un corazón llameante. Se apoya sobre cuatro pies de voluta adornados con hojas estilizadas que se prolongan decorando las aristas y el perímetro inferior de la caja adoptando formas aveneradas en la parte central. Esfera de porcelana blanca con doce cartuchos de porcelana para las horas, en números romanos, y otros doce cartuchos ovales de menor tamaño, exteriores a los descritos, para los minutos, con números arábigos. Dos bocallaves. La firma Raingo Frères que aparece en la esfera se relaciona con un gremio de relojeros establecidos en París en la Rue Vieille du Temple en 1829 y en la Rue de Saintonge, de 1840 a 1850, que expusieron en Londres en 1862. Este reloj debió contar originariamente con el complemento de una ménsula, sobre la que se apoyaría, adosado al muro, pues este tipo de relojes fueron siempre murales. A falta de ella, su utilización pasa a ser de chimenea o consola. La moda exigía que en todo gabinete, despacho, salón o dormitorio, uno o más relojes completasen el mobiliario, contribuyendo así al esplendor y lujo de residencias reales tanto como las pertenecientes a señores o adinerados. Por sus características decorativas y técnicas representa una vuelta al estilo Luis XV. La aplicación de adornos de bronce que reproducen volutas, hojas de acanto y veneras, en todo su perímetro, confiere un aire rococó a la pieza. La técnica decorativa es una reminiscencia de la técnica Boulle, que combina las incrustaciones de latón, zinc o cobre. En su interior se aprecia cierta influencia orientalizante, por ejemplo con la introducción de sombras chinescas materializadas en la figura masculina con turbante que toca un laúd. El interés por lo oriental se mezcla con los temas figurativos de carácter mitológico y religioso, como se observa en la figura femenina sobre el caballo alado y en el amorcillo que sujeta el Sagrado Corazón de Jesús del copete, respectivamente.

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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