Clocks · Mantel clock
Mantel clock, France, 1800–1900
- Maker / attribution
- Unrecorded in source
- Date
- 1800–1900
- Historical period
- Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
- Country of origin
- France
- Place
- France
- Object type
- Mantel clock
- Materials / technique
- wood
- Dimensions
- height 40 cm; width 44 cm
- Holding institution
- Musée du Louvre, Paris
- Accession / object no.
- R 1524
- 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 R 1524), this is a mantel clock, made in France, dated 1800–1900. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: wood. Recorded dimensions: height 40 cm; width 44 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)
Coupe couverte en grisaille sur fond noir avec des rehauts d'or et des lavis de teinte rouge, bleu et turquoise, une scène allégorique ; le fond est constitué à gauche d'un bâtiment inachevé, au centre d'une échappée vers un paysage mouvementé ; la scène est bordée à droite par un grand arbre près duquel deux hommes regardent un troisième vautré sur une marche, une coupe à la main ; sur la gauche, trois hommes dont un s'appuie sur un bâton et un autre porte un bassin profond avec un vase couvert à deux anses ; un angelot tenant une coupe et un petit pot verse du vin sur la scène ; la scène est entourée d'une guirlande de laurier enrubanné ; le couvercle porte des médaillons en relief avec des bustes, doubles à l'extérieur, encadrés de guirlandes de feuillages enrubannés et séparés par des chutes de feuillages, également enrubannés pourvus de cartels ou de trompettes issus de bucranes ou de têtes d'angelots ; sur le revers du couvercle, les bustes sont simples dans les médaillons séparés par des rinceaux dorés ; sur le pied, chutes de feuillages, rubans, cartels ; le revers est noir à fleurons d'or.
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 : 1800 - 1900
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 : bois · 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.
Provenance
Collection du baron Salomon de Rothschild (1835-1864) ; collection de la baronne Adèle de Rothschild (1843-1922) ; legs en 1922 ; provient de la Fondation Salomon de Rothschild, rue Berryer (août 2007) ; reparti pour la fondation le 18 juillet 2012
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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