Clock
ca. 1740 (made)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
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 | |
Object type | |
Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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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 |
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 |
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Marks and inscriptions |
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Gallery label |
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Credit line | Given by Christina H. M. and Frances E. Holly |
Subjects depicted | |
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 | |
Accession number | M.354&A-1940 |
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Record created | February 15, 2001 |
Record URL |
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