Clocks · Mantel clock
Mantel clock, 1785–1800
- Maker / attribution
- Unrecorded in source
- Date
- 1785–1800
- Historical period
- Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Mantel clock
- Materials / technique
- bronze (metal), marble (rock)
- Dimensions
- height 53.5 cm x depth 10.5 cm; width 36 cm
- Holding institution
- Rijksmuseum
- Accession / object no.
- BK-14923
- Credit line
- Private gift
- Catalogue title (original)
- Pendule van wit en zwart marmer met beslag van verguld brons. Ovale basis met putti versierd, op vier poten. Pendule wordt bekroond door vaas met bloemen. (Dutch)
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Record summary
Held and catalogued by Rijksmuseum (object number BK-14923), this is a mantel clock, dated 1785–1800. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: bronze (metal), marble (rock). Recorded dimensions: height 53.5 cm x depth 10.5 cm; width 36 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
Description — Rijksmuseum (Dutch)
Pendule van wit marmer met verguld bronzen beslag. De ovale basis op vier pootjes en versierd met reliëf met putti, draagt twee ovale basementen van zwart marmer met witte plinten. Hierop rust een pilaster, versierd met een appliqué van verguld brons, geflankeerd door twee verguld bronzen zuilen. Hiertussen bevindt zich de cirkelvormige klok met een witte geëmailleerde wijzerplaat, waaronder een ajour bewerkte plaat met een masker temidden van mythische dieren en een guirlande. Bovenop een vaas met bloemen.
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 An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.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
Mantel and French pendule clocks
The mantel clock — the French pendule de cheminée — is as much decorative art as timekeeper. From the late seventeenth century Parisian clockmakers worked with cabinet-makers, bronze founders and gilders (ciseleurs-doreurs) to create cases in Boulle marquetry, gilt bronze and marble, while the movements were often supplied by specialist makers. Clocks of the Louis XIV, Louis XV and Louis XVI periods, and Empire clocks with allegorical figures, set fashions copied across Europe.
The nineteenth century industrialised the type. The 'Paris movement', a standardised round movement with silk-thread or Brocot suspension and count-wheel striking, was made in huge numbers by firms such as Japy and Vincenti, and fitted into cases of every style and material.
What to look for
- Round 'Paris' movements with makers' stamps (e.g. Japy Frères, Vincenti, S. Marti) and medal marks from exhibitions.
- Suspension type: silk thread (earlier) or Brocot adjustable suspension (after c. 1840).
- Visible Brocot escapement on the dial in later clocks.
- Fire-gilt (mercury) gilding on bronzes versus later electro-gilding.
- Signed dials naming a retailer rather than the movement maker.
Dating clues
- Silk-suspension Paris movements: c. 1800–1850.
- Brocot suspension and visible escapements: after c. 1840.
- Exhibition medal stamps on movements give dates after the medal year.
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:Anchor (recoil) escapement
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