Clocks · Mantel clock
Mantel clock, France, 1800–1835
- Maker / attribution
- Unrecorded in source
- Date
- 1800–1835
- Historical period
- Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
- Country of origin
- France
- Place
- France
- Object type
- Mantel clock
- Materials / technique
- bronze, copper alloy
- Dimensions
- height 40 cm; width 28,5 cm; depth 11,5 cm
- Holding institution
- Musée du Louvre, Paris
- Accession / object no.
- OAR 373
- Credit line
- Musée du Louvre
- Catalogue title (original)
- Pendule : laitière à cheval (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 373), this is a mantel clock, made in France, dated 1800–1835. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: bronze, copper alloy. Recorded dimensions: height 40 cm; width 28,5 cm; depth 11,5 cm. The record is illustrated with 6 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 noir, doré et patiné représentant une laitière à cheval ; cadran d'émail blanc circulaire à chiffres romains, non signé ; socle de bronze patiné vert sur lequel se détachent en bas-relief une vache, et deux femmes vêtues à l'antique dont l'une goûte le lait, et l'autre prépare le beurre ; quatre pieds circulaires de bronze mouluré et doré.
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 An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.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 : époque contemporaine (Occident) · · Date de création/fabrication : 1800 - 1835
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 An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.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 : doré = dorure (techniques métal) · Technique : patiné = patine (techniques métal) · Technique : émaillé = émaillage = émail = émaux (techniques métal) (cadran émaillé blanc) · Technique : émail peint (techniques métal->émaillé = émaillage = émail = émaux) · Matériau : alliage cuivreux
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
Inscription : ; "OAR 373" (gravé sous le socle et présent au revers)
Provenance
l'identification de l'OAR 373 a été précisée en croisant plusieurs sources : dans la liste de préparation aux commissions de choix des oeuvres de la récupération artistique (dite liste OBIP) où cette oeuvre est citée, les informations suivantes sont indiquées : « PENDULES ; n° d'ordre : 2 ; n° allemand : WIE 55-50 ; Provenance : 1° WIESBADEN ; Epoque : Empire ; Sujet : Jardinière à cheval ; Matière : bronze doré ; Observations : [néant] ; Attribution : [néant] ». Deux informations sont importantes pour débuter la recherche : le numéro allemand « WIE 55-50 » et le nom du convoi « 1° Wiesbaden ». En effet le numéro « WIE 55-50 » est présent sur une liste générale d'oeuvres entreposées à Wiesbaden : « Unclaimed Material of Probable French Origin in the Wiesbaden Central Collecting Point-8 septembre 1948. [...] WIE 5550, 5551, one Empire sofa and one Empire clock, confiscated from Dr Albrecht, bad Schwalbach (on basis of Declaration 30070) ». Deux autres documents confirment la présence de cette pendule dans le premier convoi en provenance de Wiesbaden : - Sur une feuille volante concernant le premier convoi de Wiesbaden, on lit : « In Shipment 187-WIE 5550 1 o'clock from Mr H Albrecht Rod Schwalbach France ». - Le calepin de déballage du premier convoi en provenance de Wiesbaden mentionne : « Caisse n° 50 [...] WIE 5550 - Une pendule Empire ou Restauration bronze - Laitière sur cheval ». - La liste récapitulative des restitutions à la France (propriétaires inconnus) établie par
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