Clocks · Mantel clock
Mantel clock by Robert Osmond, France, 1765–1770
- Maker / attribution
- Robert Osmond (Orfèvre); Denis-François Dubois (maker)
- Date
- 1765–1770
- Historical period
- Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
- Country of origin
- France
- Place
- Paris, France
- Object type
- Mantel clock
- Dimensions
- height 76 cm; width 43 cm; depth 27 cm
- Holding institution
- Musée du Louvre, Paris
- Accession / object no.
- OA 11761
- Credit line
- Musée du Louvre, Département des Objets d'art du Moyen Age, de la Renaissance et des temps modernes
- Catalogue title (original)
- Pendule (French)
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Record summary
Held and catalogued by Musée du Louvre, Paris (object number OA 11761), this is a mantel clock by Robert Osmond, made in Paris, France, dated 1765–1770. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Clocks collection. Recorded dimensions: height 76 cm; width 43 cm; depth 27 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)
La caisse de cette pendule en bronze doré se présente comme un vase à l'antique. Le socle monumental quadrangulaire repose sur quatre pieds ronds cannelés et godronnés. Il est orné au registre inférieur de rosaces et d'un masque masculin, au registre médian de fleurettes et d'une frise d'entrelacs, et à la partie haute d'un épais tore de laurier retenu par un ruban noué et des patères simulées. Deux amours ailés sont assis de part et d'autre du socle, au pied de la pendule, à côté d'instruments de musique, d'astronomie et de livres. Ils tiennent chacun une partition de musique. La boîte qui contient un mouvement et un cadran signés de Dubois repose sur un piédouche ovale à canaux torsadés. Elle est flanquée de deux anses à enroulement et se termine par une graine feuillagée.
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 An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.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)
Date de création/fabrication : vers 1765 - 1770
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 An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.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) · 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 : ; D.F. Dubois (sur le cadran)
Provenance
Legs Mme Francis Hervouet, accepté par arrêté du 12 septembre 1994
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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