Clocks · Mantel clock
Mantel clock by Frères Hagnauer, Wildegg, 1820
- Maker / attribution
- Frères Hagnauer (creator)
- Date
- 1820
- Historical period
- Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Place
- Wildegg
- Object type
- Mantel clock
- Holding institution
- Museum Aargau
- Accession / object no.
- _kimnet_cho_a83bdb75_31b2_ceab_e9b1_b72f28e0e243
- Catalogue title (original)
- Pendule auf Konsole (German)
Record summary
Held and catalogued by Museum Aargau (object number _kimnet_cho_a83bdb75_31b2_ceab_e9b1_b72f28e0e243), this is a mantel clock by Frères Hagnauer, made in Wildegg, dated 1820. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Clocks collection. 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 Museum Aargau (German)
Auf der Rückseite des Uhrwerks aus Messing ist graviert: "Frères Hagnaur AARAU". Trotz (oder wegen) der Signatur ist unklar ob das Uhrwerk mit dem Ziffernblatt tatsächlich von den Gebrüder Hagnauer stammt oder ob sie es in Frankreich gekauft haben. Die nicht ganz korrekten Gravierungen könnten darauf hindeuten. Man sollte aber gleichzeitig in Betracht ziehen, dass individuelle und aus heutiger Sicht "falsche" Schreibweisen zu dieser Zeit nichts Unübliches waren. Unter den Uhrmacher war es damals jedoch verbreitet, ganze, bereits verzierte Pendulengehäuse und eben auch andere Teile in Frankreich, von wo die Pendulen ursprünglich stammen, zu kaufen. In den Aarauer Neujahrblättern 1994 untersucht Peter Kleiner die Aarauer Besteuerungslisten und kommt zum Schluss, dass im 18. und 19. Jahrhundert in Aarau 25 Uhrmacher und insgesamt 35 Personen in der Uhrenherstellung tätig waren. Es lässt sich nicht genau nachweisen, welches Bruderpaar der vier Hagnauer-Söhne diese Pendule herstellte: entweder waren es die beiden Uhrmacher Johann Friedrich und Johann Jakob, oder der Uhrmacher Johann Beat der mit seinem Bruder Jakob, der als Schreiner somit für das Gehäuse zuständig gewesen wäre, im selben Haus lebte. Sicher scheint auf jeden Fall, dass das Handwerk nicht in die nächste Generation überging, denn Johann Beats Witwe suchte 1829 per Inserat nach einem Käufer für das komplette Uhrmacherwerkzeug ihres verstorbenen Mannes.
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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