Clocks · Clock
Clock in the form of a globe supported by two children, designed by Carrier-Belleuse, 1860s
- Maker / attribution
- Carrier-Belleuse (Designer); Boy (maker)
- Date
- 1860-1867
- Historical period
- Industrial Revolution (1850 – 1900)
- Country of origin
- France
- Place
- Paris
- Object type
- Clock
- Materials / technique
- made of "imitation bronze"
- Dimensions
- Height: 28.1 in (whole); Diameter: 11 in (of base)
- Holding institution
- Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- Accession / object no.
- 762-1869
Record summary
Held and catalogued by Victoria and Albert Museum, London (object number 762-1869), this is a clock by Carrier-Belleuse, made in Paris, France, dated 1860-1867. The Atlas places it in the Industrial Revolution period (1850 – 1900) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: made of "imitation bronze". Recorded dimensions: Height: 28.1 in (whole); Diameter: 11 in (of base). The record is illustrated with 3 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
V&A — Summary
According to the Art Inventory of objects acquired by the V&A in 1867, this clock, made of "imitation bronze", was designed by "A.Carrier" (Albert Carrier-Belleuse) and bought by the V&A from the Paris Exhibiton of 1867 "as an example of cheapness of manufacture".
V&A — Physical description
Clock comprising two putti supporting a globe which forms the clock, on a red marble base. Two robed children stand on a base signed 'A Carrier' which is mounted on a red marble plinth in two stages. The lower stage is octagonal and the upper is in the form of a fluted octagonal drum, tapering upwards. The putti support the clock above their heads. The clock is in the form of a globe with flattened front and rear faces containing the dial and the door for rear access to the movement. Dial: with brass glazed bezel 11.4 cm diameter, chapter ring, of mottled red marble 9.8 cm diameter; 1.6 cm broad. With applied Roman numerals for the hours. The gilt hands are of Breguet type. The recessed dial in the centre 6.3 cm diameter with its rear plate of gilt-brass engraved with leafy sprays and scrolls and signed in a rectangular horizontal cartouche in the lower part EXPOSITION UNIVERSELLE BOY, RANVIER et CIE PARIS 1867 Winding holes, surrounded by raised gilt-brass rings, inside IIII and VIII. Surrounding the dial centre an applied gilt and engraved piece, the upper part carried the balance cock. Movement: Brass movement plates 7.6 cm diameter Backplate stamped in an oval 'Y.M.THOMAS BTE S.G.D.G. in an oval and with the punched number 362.
V&A — Object history
Bought at the Paris International Exhibition, 1867, for £12-0s-0d as an example of cheapness of manufacture. Designed by M.A.Carrier later known as Carrier-Belleuse
V&A — Production note
The figures are cast in a material which imitates bronze
Inscriptions & marks
EXPOISTION UNIVERSELLE PARIS BOY RANVIER & CIE PARIS 1867
Historical context
Industrial Revolution (1850 – 1900)
American interchangeable-parts manufacture; railroad time standards; Swiss and German factory systems.
Factory production transformed the clock into an everyday object. American makers (Seth Thomas, Ansonia, Waterbury) and German factories (Junghans, Gustav Becker, Lenzkirch) sold millions of shelf, wall and alarm clocks worldwide; France produced standardised Paris movements and carriage clocks; electric time distribution began.
Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Precision & Scientific 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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