Movements & Components · Watch case
Watch case by Jean-Pierre Huaud, Switzerland, 1600–1650
- Maker / attribution
- Jean-Pierre Huaud (Emailleur); Amy Huaud (Emailleur)
- Date
- 1600–1650
- Historical period
- Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Place
- Genève, Switzerland
- Object type
- Watch case
- Dimensions
- height 4,8 cm; width 5,5 cm; depth 2,4 cm
- Holding institution
- Musée du Louvre, Paris
- Accession / object no.
- OA 7697
- Credit line
- Musée du Louvre, Département des Objets d'art du Moyen Age, de la Renaissance et des temps modernes
- Catalogue title (original)
- Boîte de montre en or et émail peint (French)
Editor's note
The Louvre dates this case 1600–1650 (reign of Louis XIII), but the enamellers it names, Jean-Pierre Huaud (1655–1723) and Amy Huaud (1657–1724), worked from about 1680. The museum's date is shown; the attribution and the date cannot both be right.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 OA 7697), this is a watch case by Jean-Pierre Huaud, made in Genève, Switzerland, dated 1600–1650. The Atlas places it in the Early Modern Horology period (1600 – 1750) of its Movements & Components collection. Recorded dimensions: height 4,8 cm; width 5,5 cm; depth 2,4 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)
Boîte de montre en or et émail peint ornée de scènes représentant Diane et Actéon et Diane et Mercure ?
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 An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.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 XIII (1610-1643) (Occident->époque moderne = Ancien Régime->dynastie des Bourbons) · · Date de création/fabrication : 1600 - 1650
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 An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.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 : or (émaillé) · 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.
Provenance
Collection du baron Salomon de Rothschild (1835-1864) ; collection de la baronne Adèle de Rothschild (1843-1922) ; legs en 1922
Historical context
Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)
Huygens' pendulum and balance spring transform accuracy; English makers develop the anchor and deadbeat escapements.
The pendulum, anchor escapement and balance spring transformed movement design; English makers introduced jewelled bearings (1704).
Read the period in the timelineMore movements & components from this periodEarlier: Renaissance Horology
Atlas type guide
Cases, keys and accessories
Clock and watch cases protect the movement and express taste and status. Watch cases were made by separate specialist case-makers whose marks, along with assay hallmarks, help to date and place them. Clock cases were the work of cabinet-makers, bronze founders, ceramic factories and silversmiths, so they belong as much to the history of decorative arts as to horology.
Keys, chatelaines, watch stands, watch papers and winding tools are part of the material culture of timekeeping: they show how timepieces were worn, displayed, wound and maintained.
What to look for
- Case maker's sponsor's marks and assay hallmarks in gold and silver cases.
- Materials: shagreen, tortoiseshell, enamel, porcelain, jasperware, gilt bronze.
- Breguet-style ratchet keys, crank keys and watch-key fobs.
- Engraved names, presentations and dates.
Dating clues
- English hallmark date letters allow exact dating of the case assay.
- Porcelain cases from Meissen and Sèvres: mostly eighteenth century.
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.
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