Clocks · Mantel clock
Mantel clock by Brisbart, France, 1800–1815
- Maker / attribution
- Brisbart (Horloger)
- Date
- 1800–1815
- Historical period
- Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
- Country of origin
- France
- Place
- France
- Object type
- Mantel clock
- Materials / technique
- bronze
- Dimensions
- height 0,55 m; width 0,265 m
- Holding institution
- Musée du Louvre, Paris
- Accession / object no.
- OAR 376
- Credit line
- Musée du Louvre
- Catalogue title (original)
- Pendule de bronze doré (French)
View the source record ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Held and catalogued by Musée du Louvre, Paris (object number OAR 376), this is a mantel clock by Brisbart, made in France, dated 1800–1815. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: bronze. Recorded dimensions: height 0,55 m; width 0,265 m. 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 — Musée du Louvre (French)
pendule de bronze doré à quatre colonnes soutenant un entablement rectangulaire décoré de guirlandes de fleurs, sous lequel est disposé le cadran circulaire, émaillé blanc, signé de "BRISBART" ; socle à rinceaux et cornes d'abondance.
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 An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.
Dating and period as catalogued (French)
Epoque / période : Premier Empire (1804-1814) (Occident->époque contemporaine) · · Date de création/fabrication : 1800 - 1815
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 An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.
Materials and techniques as catalogued (French)
Matériau : bronze · Technique : fonte = coulé fondu = fondu (techniques métal) · Technique : doré = dorure (techniques métal) · Technique : émaillé = émaillage = émail = émaux (techniques métal)
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 An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.
Inscriptions & marks
Signature : ; sur le cadran : "BRISBART/QUAI PELLETIER N° 12"
Provenance
dans la liste de préparation aux commissions de choix des oeuvres de la récupération artistique (dite liste OBIP), on lit : « [page : ] - Pendules N° d'ordre : 5 ; N° allemand : ss n° ; Provenance : [néant] ; Epoque : Empire ; Sujet : Fronton et colonnettes ; Matière : bronze doré ; Observations : [néant] ; Attribution : [néant] ». Cette pendule (OAR 376) a été inscrite sur la liste des oeuvres mises à la disposition des musées nationaux par l'OBIP. Elle est retenue lors de la deuxième commission de choix des oeuvres de la récupération artistique du 17 novembre 1949, prise en charge par la direction des musées de France et confiée par celle-ci à la garde du musée du Louvre (département des Objets d'art). Cette décision est confirmée par l'arrêté d'attribution du ministère de l'Education nationale du 16 mai 1951. Elle a ensuite été inscrite dans l'inventaire Objets d'Art Récupération (OAR), établi par Hubert Landais, sous le numéro OAR 376. Elle ne figure pas dans l'arrêté du 21 août 1959 concernant le transfert à titre de dépôt de cent soixante-dix-neuf OAR à l'administration du Mobilier national. Elle est passée par Compiègne (entre 1959 et 1964) et a été envoyée directement dans son lieu d'affectation, car aucune trace écrite n'a été retrouvée. L'OAR 376 est déposé le 24 novembre 1971 à l'hôtel Matignon au Ministère d'Etat auprès du 1er Ministre. La pendule rejoint ensuite l'Hôtel de Broglie-Haussonville au 35 rue Saint-Dominique depuis au moins 1978. Elle reste sur place e
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
Related records
Clocks · 1750–1800
Bracket clock in metal case with scroll handles and flamed-shaped top signed by Pierre Seignoret, Clockmaket to the the Comte d'Artois
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Clocks · 1756
Mantel clock, France, 1756
Rijksmuseum
Clocks · c. 1764–70
Mantel clock by Jean-André Lepaute, France, c. 1764–70
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Clocks · 1760–1860
'Pendule d'alcove' wall clock, gilt-bronze and boulle marquetry, Paris, 1760-1860
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Clocks · 1760
Mantel clock, France, 1760
Rijksmuseum
Clocks · c. 1768–70
Longcase astronomical regulator by Ferdinand Berthoud, France, c. 1768–70
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Clocks · c. 1775
Clock by Porcelain plaques by Sèvres Manufactory, France, c. 1775
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Clocks · 1770–1775
Longcase clock (régulateur) by Robert Robin, France, 1770–1775
Victoria and Albert Museum, London