Bracket clock

Object Type
Small clocks such as this example are thought to have been used when travelling. Too large to be used in a carriage, they were designed to be carried from place to place. It has been suggested that they might well have been used on board ship, fitted into a case fixed to the wall of a cabin.

People
Little is known about the maker who signed himself 'Paulet'. A number of clocks with his signature are recorded and he seems to have had wealthy clients. A clock by him in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, still has its original key, which bears the royal monogram of Queen Anne (ruled 1702-1714). The distinctly Continental style of his clocks and his French name suggest that he was a Huguenot (French Protestant emigré).

Design
The clock strikes hours in passing and repeats the hours and quarters. The central dial at the front is used to set the alarm, and the pointer on the top dial is for the calendar. The clock was not an eight-day clock; it had to be wound more frequently. The gilt-brass decoration on the sides of the case owes much to the influence of Daniel Marot (1663-1752), a French architect and printmaker active in The Netherlands, whose designs were very fashionable in England when this clock was made.