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The Encyclopedia of Horology

Painting · Place not recorded

Portrait d'une épouse d'officier portant à la ceinture une montre à châtelaine

Verified

This portrait is a perfect illustration of the style of dress worn during the Louis XV period, and depicts the fashion for wearing watches on a chatelaine, a small gold or silver chain on which

Technical facts

Inventory number
MIH V-550.2
Object type
Painting
Dating
1767
Materials and techniques (catalogue wording)
Peinture à l'huile

Historical significance

  • This portrait is a perfect illustration of the style of dress worn during the Louis XV period, and depicts the fashion for wearing watches on a chatelaine, a small gold or silver chain on which
  • the Watch or other small objects, such as a winding kay, a magnifier or scissors would be hung. The importance of the timepiece, a clear marker of wealth, can be appreciated through its prominent
  • position in the foreground. This female portrait is one of a pair.

Photographs

Portrait d'une épouse d'officier portant à la ceinture une montre à châtelaine (MIH V-550.2)
Portrait d'une épouse d'officier portant à la ceinture une montre à châtelaine (MIH V-550.2) — 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. V-550.2: https://collection.mih.ch/fr/collection/item/30087/

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