Clock thumbnail 1
Clock thumbnail 2
+5
images
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Europe 1600-1815, Room 5, The Friends of the V&A Gallery

Clock

ca. 1740 (made)
Artist/Maker
Bastien, Joseph-Joachim (maker)
Place of origin
Paris (made)

This was the standard form for a fashionable wall clock in France from about 1735 to 1760. The sweeping lines of the case follow the fashionable curves of the Rococo style. However, the decoration of clocks was often rather old-fashioned in comparison with that of other furnishings. In this example the tight, symmetrical scrolling pattern of the boulle marquetry – which combined brass and dark tortoiseshell and was named after André-Charles Boulle, cabinetmaker to Louis XIV – is closer to designs of the period before 1720 than to those of 1740. The dial is more up-to-date in style, with 13 separate plaques of enamel set into a gilt-brass framework.


Object details

Category
Clocks & Watches
Object type
Clock
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Clock
  • Bracket
Materials and techniques
The carcase probably of oak, the bracket of pine, both veneered with boulle marquetry of turtleshell inlaid with engraved brass; with gilt-brass mounts; movement of brass and steel; dial plate of tin? enamelled in white, blue and black; glass; hands of blued steel; iron hooks to the bracket
Oak
Turtleshell
Brass
Gilt-Brass
Enamel
Pine
Steel
Glass
Iron
Cabinet-Making
Veneered
Boulle Marquetry
Cast
Chased
Gilded
Brief description
Carcase probably of oak, the bracket of pine, both veneered in boulle marquetry of turtleshell and brass, with gilt-brass mounts; the dial plate enamelled in white, blue and black
Physical description
A clock on a separate bracket, of waisted, serpentine form. The clock case is probably of oak and the bracket is of pine. Both clock and bracket are veneered with boulle marquetry of turtleshell inlaid with engraved brass, with gilt-brass mounts, the dial set with a centre and 12 hour plaques of white enamel with black Roman numerals. The cresting of the clock is a separate section and is surmounted by a sculptural group of young woman carried aloft on an eagle.
Dimensions
  • Fully assembled height: 1190mm
  • Of bracket height: 30.5cm
  • Fully assembled width: 435mm
  • Fully assembled depth: 210mm
Marks and inscriptions
  • BASTIEN À PARIS (In black enamel on the dial)
  • Bastien Aparis (Engraved on outside of backplate of movement)
  • Ladoüé Janvier 1740 (Engraved on both mainsprings. Mainsprings were often signed in such a way by their specialist makers.)
Gallery label
  • Clock About 1740 France (Paris) Movement by Joseph-Joachim Bastien Probably oak and pine; marquetry in turtle shell and brass; gilded copper alloy mounts Given by Christina H.M. and Frances E. Holly(2015)
  • BRACKET CLOCK FRENCH (Paris); first third of the 18th century Decorated with boulle-work marquetry Inscribed BASTIEN A PARIS The boulle technique of marquetry using tortoiseshell and brass with other materials remained fashionable for clocks, even when it use on contemporary furniture had fallen out of fashion. M.354-1940(1980)
  • BRACKET CLOCK FRENCH (Paris); 1730-50 Dial inscribed; BASTIEN A PARIS Veneered with boulle marquetry of tortoiseshell and brass; on a carcase of oak; gilt-bronze mounts The boulle technique of marquetry, using tortoiseshell and brass, with other materials, had been highly fashionable in Paris in the first decade of the 18th century. By 1730 it was becoming old-fashioned, though it never entirely fell out of fashion. Its complex technique and luxurious materials continued to be valued by some clients, and boulle marquetry panels were often re-used or adapted for new furniture, as is clear on the adjacent table (1021-1882). Clockmakers in France, as in England, tended to be conservative in the styles they chose for their clock cases and so boulle marquetry continued to be used for clocks even after it had fallen out of favour for furniture. M.354-1940(1994)
Credit line
Given by Christina H. M. and Frances E. Holly
Subjects depicted
Eagle
Woman
Summary
This was the standard form for a fashionable wall clock in France from about 1735 to 1760. The sweeping lines of the case follow the fashionable curves of the Rococo style. However, the decoration of clocks was often rather old-fashioned in comparison with that of other furnishings. In this example the tight, symmetrical scrolling pattern of the boulle marquetry – which combined brass and dark tortoiseshell and was named after André-Charles Boulle, cabinetmaker to Louis XIV – is closer to designs of the period before 1720 than to those of 1740. The dial is more up-to-date in style, with 13 separate plaques of enamel set into a gilt-brass framework.
Collection
Furniture and Woodwork Collection
Accession number
M.354&A-1940

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Record createdFebruary 15, 2001
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O55019/clock-bastien-joseph-joachim/
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