Clocks · Mantel clock
Mantel clock, Switzerland, 1700–1800
- Maker / attribution
- Unrecorded in source
- Date
- 1700–1800
- Historical period
- Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Mantel clock
- Materials / technique
- ebony, tortoiseshell, copper
- Dimensions
- height 51 cm; width 36 cm; depth 17 cm
- Holding institution
- Musée du Louvre, Paris
- Accession / object no.
- OA 5080
- Credit line
- Musée du Louvre, Département des Objets d'art du Moyen Age, de la Renaissance et des temps modernes
- Catalogue title (original)
- Pendule neuchâteloise (French)
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Record summary
Held and catalogued by Musée du Louvre, Paris (object number OA 5080), this is a mantel clock, made in Switzerland, dated 1700–1800. The Atlas places it in the Early Modern Horology period (1600 – 1750) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: ebony, tortoiseshell, copper. Recorded dimensions: height 51 cm; width 36 cm; depth 17 cm. The record is illustrated with 3 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 en forme de portique surmontée d'une boule. Mouvement suisse à grande complication pour la sonnerie des heures et des quarts
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 An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.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 : 1700 - 1800
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 An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.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/Technique : ébène, incrusté d'écaille et de cuivre, orné de bronzes dorés · Matériau : ébène · Technique : incrusté = incrustation (techniques bambou/ bois/ corne/ ivoire/ écaille) · Matériau : écaille · Matériau : cuivre · Matériau : bronze (doré) · Technique : techniques bambou/ bois/ corne/ ivoire/ écaille (ébénisterie)
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 An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.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
Meubles et objets d'art du Garde-Meuble attribués au Louvre par décret du 24 février 1901
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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