Clocks · Mantel clock
Mantel clock by Pierre Le Roy, France, 1735–1745
- Maker / attribution
- Pierre Le Roy (Horloger)
- Date
- 1735–1745
- Historical period
- Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)
- Country of origin
- France
- Place
- Paris, France
- Object type
- Mantel clock
- Materials / technique
- porcelain
- Dimensions
- height 23,5 cm; width 19 cm; depth 10 cm
- Holding institution
- Musée du Louvre, Paris
- Accession / object no.
- OA 10539
- Credit line
- Musée du Louvre, Département des Objets d'art du Moyen Age, de la Renaissance et des temps modernes
- Catalogue title (original)
- Pendule aux chinois (French)
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Record summary
Held and catalogued by Musée du Louvre, Paris (object number OA 10539), this is a mantel clock by Pierre Le Roy, made in Paris, France, dated 1735–1745. The Atlas places it in the Early Modern Horology period (1600 – 1750) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: porcelain. Recorded dimensions: height 23,5 cm; width 19 cm; depth 10 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 — Musée du Louvre (French)
Pendule ornée de deux chinois en bronze laqué noir, l'un étendu et portant sur sa jambe gauche le cadran ; l'autre, un enfant se tenant debout à droite. Cadran circulaire d'émail blanc, signé "Pierre Le Roy de la Société des Arts à Paris". Derrière le cadran, des branches de bronze doré avec fleurs de porcelaine. Mouvement signé "Pierre Le Roy à Paris".
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 An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.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 : Louis XV (1715-1774) (Occident->époque moderne = Ancien Régime->dynastie des Bourbons) · · Date de création/fabrication : vers 1735 - 1745
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 An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.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 (doré) · Matériau : porcelaine · Technique : techniques métal (bronze d'ameublement)
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 : ; PIERRE LE ROY de la Société des Arts (sur le cadran)
Provenance
Donation René Grog et Marie-Louise Grog-Carven, 1973.
Historical context
Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)
Huygens' pendulum and balance spring transform accuracy; English makers develop the anchor and deadbeat escapements.
Huygens's pendulum (1656–57) improved clock accuracy from about a quarter of an hour to under a minute a day. The anchor escapement (c. 1670) and the long seconds pendulum created the longcase clock; London makers such as Fromanteel, Knibb, Tompion and Quare led European clockmaking, and French makers created the Boulle pendule.
Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Renaissance 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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