Watch by Jean-Antoine Lépine, France, 1789–1790 — view 1 of 5 — View 1 of 5 · Image: © 2017 GrandPalaisRmn (musée du Louvre) / Stéphane Maréchalle · original image source (opens another website in a new tab)

View 1 of 5 · Image: © 2017 GrandPalaisRmn (musée du Louvre) / Stéphane Maréchalle · original image source (opens another website in a new tab)

Pocket Watches · Watch

Watch by Jean-Antoine Lépine, France, 1789–1790

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.

Maker / attribution: Jean-Antoine Lépine (Horloger)
Date: 1789–1790
Historical period: Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
Country of origin: France
Place: Paris, France
Object type: Watch
Materials / technique: brass, gold
Dimensions: diameter 4,8 cm; thickness 1,3 cm
Holding institution: Musée du Louvre, Paris
Accession / object no.: OA 8581
Credit line: Musée du Louvre, Département des Objets d'art du Moyen Age, de la Renaissance et des temps modernes
Catalogue title (original): Montre ornée d'une représentation de Vénus (French)

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Record summary

Held and catalogued by Musée du Louvre, Paris (object number OA 8581), this is a watch by Jean-Antoine Lépine, made in Paris, France, dated 1789–1790. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Pocket Watches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: brass, gold. Recorded dimensions: diameter 4,8 cm; thickness 1,3 cm. The record is illustrated with 5 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)

Montre ronde dont le boîtier est guilloché en rayons et en grains d'orge recouvert d'un émail rouge translucide sur lequel se détache en grisaille une représentation de Vénus. La déesse est accompagnée de deux colombes et un chien. Le sol et les fleurs sont peints de manière polychrome ; de grosses demi-perles entourent les lunettes. Sur le cadran en émail blanc les heures sont indiquées en chiffres romains et arabes, certaines par des chiffres mixtes (V2, V3). Aiguilles en or repercées. Mouvement à échappement à virgule dont la roue possède des dents de loup. Pas de fusée.

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 XVI (1774-1792) (Occident->époque moderne = Ancien Régime->dynastie des Bourbons) · · Date de création/fabrication : 1789 - 1790

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 : laiton · Matériau : or · Matériau : perle de coquillage · Technique : émaillé = émaillage = émail = émaux (techniques métal) · Technique : techniques métal (orfèvrerie)

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 : ; Cadran signé : lépine/inv. et fecit ; Mouvement signé sous trois fleurs de lys : N 5632 / Lépine h ger du Roy/A PARIS ; Poinçon : ; Charge : Paris, 1789-1792 (?) ; Maison Commune : Paris 1789-1790 (P 89) et marque à l'intérieur de la cuvette du boîtier : GM sous un croissant.

Provenance

collection Jules-René Olivier (1855-1933), horloger-collectionneur ; legs de sa sœur Marie-Julie Olivier, n° 714 ; comité du 24 janvier 1935 ; conseil du 5 février 1935 ; décret du 4 août 1935 ; déposée au musée des Arts décoratifs le 4 novembre 1935 ; retour au musée du Louvre, arrêté du 5 février 1982.

Historical context

Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)

Harrison solves longitude; Mudge invents the lever; Breguet's Paris workshop defines the modern watch.

From 1750 to 1850 the watch became a precision instrument. Mudge's lever escapement, the cylinder escapement, Lépine's thin bar calibre, Breguet's innovations (overcoil, tourbillon, perpétuelle) and the pocket chronometer of Arnold and Earnshaw all date from this period, while verge watches remained common in cheaper production.

Read the period in the timeline More pocket watches from this period Earlier: Early Modern Horology

Atlas type guide

Hunter, half-hunter and open-face watches

In the nineteenth century the pocket watch case settled into a few standard forms. The hunter (French savonnette) has a hinged front lid protecting the crystal — reputedly for riders who could not risk broken glass — and is opened by pressing the crown or a push-piece. The half-hunter has a small window in the lid so the hands can be read when closed. The open-face (lépine) watch has no front cover, with the crown at 12; hunters normally carry the crown at 3.

Case types also changed with winding: key-wound watches gave way to keyless (stem-wound) mechanisms after Adrien Philippe's and others' designs of the 1840s, with pendant setting or lever setting.

What to look for

Crown position relative to the seconds dial: at 3 for hunters, at 12 for open-face watches.
Spring-loaded front cover with a push-piece in the pendant.
Half-hunter chapter ring enamelled on the lid.
Key holes in the inner dome (cuvette) versus keyless winding.

Dating clues

Keyless winding spread after c. 1850 and became standard by c. 1890.
English hallmarks inside gold and silver cases give the year of assay.

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.

Mechanisms mentioned

Fusee — Component
Virgule escapement — Escapement

Record completeness

Maker or attributionRecorded
DateRecorded
Place or countryRecorded
MaterialsRecorded
DimensionsRecorded
Narrative descriptionRecorded
Inscriptions / marksRecorded
ProvenanceRecorded
Several photographsRecorded

Editorial status: Documented — facts as published by the source; not independently verified by Atlas editors.

Explore further

Sources & image rights

Record source: Musée du Louvre, Paris (opens another website in a new tab).

Image rights: © GrandPalaisRmn / Musée du Louvre — permission required (opens another website in a new tab).

Images are hosted by the Atlas for study and credited to their owner. Rights holders may request correction, credit changes or removal, or grant permission, via the editorial office.

Cite this record

"Watch by Jean-Antoine Lépine, France, 1789–1790." Musée du Louvre, Paris, OA 8581. Catalogue record in The Horology Atlas, WatchMuseum.org, https://atlas.watchmuseum.org/museum/watch-by-jean-antoine-lepine-france-17891790-19ef1c.