Skip to content
The Encyclopedia of Horology

Table clock · Paris

Pendule sur socle

Verified

The clock has a tortoiseshell case with inlaid copper work of flowers and foliage, and is glazed on three sides. Ormolu bronzes highlight its shape. The top, surrounded with thick volutes, is crowned with a sculptured figure of Time sitting on the world. The curved pediment is embellished with a frieze of flowers and a decorative escutcheon in the centre. The entablature shows a small girl and a young boy, both with wings and seated, and two braziers; it is supported by four caryatids bearing the attributes of Geometry and Tragedy. The door of the case is decorated with a mythological scene: Pluto's abduction of Persephone, with the nymph Cyane desperately trying to save her.

Technical facts

Inventory number
MIH IV-543
Object type
Table clock
Place of production
Paris
Dating
1710 - 1720
Materials and techniques (catalogue wording)
Bois, écaille, cuivre, bronze, émail, Bois, Matière animale, Alliage cuivreux, Bronze, Émail
Dimensions (catalogue)
dimensions min/max: 1401 x 1600 mm
Inscriptions (catalogue)
A Baillon (Cadran); Albert Baillon A Paris (Mouvement)

Historical significance

  • The clock has a tortoiseshell case with inlaid copper work of flowers and foliage, and is glazed on three sides. Ormolu bronzes highlight its shape. The top, surrounded with thick volutes, is crowned with a sculptured figure of Time sitting on the world. The curved pediment is embellished with a frieze of flowers and a decorative escutcheon in the centre. The entablature shows a small girl and a young boy, both with wings and seated, and two braziers; it is supported by four caryatids bearing the attributes of Geometry and Tragedy. The door of the case is decorated with a mythological scene: Pluto's abduction of Persephone, with the nymph Cyane desperately trying to save her.
  • Four bud-shaped feet support the clock, whose angles are enfolded with large acanthus leaves. A garland of acanthus leaves hangs on the front; the sides are decorated with masks of old men with puffed cheeks. Like the child figures of the upper part, these masks personify the winds.
  • The plinth for the musical mechanism (missing) is also in tortoiseshell with inlaid copper work and decorated with bronzes gilded with ground gold. A set of musical instruments adorns its centre; female heads ornamented with aigrets and a row of beads are applied on the corners. The feet are shaped like lion's paws.
  • Placed in the centre of a lattice work of flowers, the chased brass dial features white enamel cartouches with Roman numerals for the hours and Arabic numerals for the minutes. The hands are blued steel. A small white enamel cartouche (recently restored) bears the clockmaker's signature.
  • The clock movement has a recoil escapement. The hour and half-hour bell striking-mechanism is controlled by a locking-plate. The two plates are supported by baluster pillars.

Photographs

Pendule sur socle (MIH IV-543)
Pendule sur socle (MIH IV-543) — Musée international d'horlogerie, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Museum collection photograph, rights review pending. MIH collection record

Photographs are illustrative examples of the type, not necessarily the exact object described. Verify details against the source file page.

Sources & references

  1. Musée international d'horlogerie, online collection record, inv. IV-543: https://collection.mih.ch/fr/collection/item/38020/

Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.