Clock

Maker:: Dubuc (active ca. 1780–1819)

Date:: 1815–20

Geography:: Made in Paris, France

Medium:: Gilt bronze

Dimensions:: 19 x 14 1/8 in. (48.3 x 35.9 cm)

Classification:: Metal

Credit Line:: Bequest of Jane E. Andrews, in memory of her husband, William Loring Andrews, 1930

Accession Number:: 31.41.1

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 731

After the War of 1812 imported French clocks in gilt-bronze cases depicting allegorical subjects were marketed extensively in America, especially in New York. The standing figure of Washington is based on John Trumbull's painting "George Washington before the Battle of Trenton" (22.45.9), which was well known in Europe through engravings. The clock is replete with patriotic symbolism, including the seal of the United States and the eulogy under the dial taken from Major General Henry Lee's Funeral Oration on the Death of General Washington (1800).

Inscription: embossed on drapery below dial: WASHINGTON. / First in WAR, First in PEACE, / First in the HEARTS of his COUNTRYMEN; embossed below eagle: E PLURIBUS UNUM

Marking: inscribed on dial: Dubuc / Rue Michel-le-Comte No. 33 / A PARIS

Jane E. Andrews, New York, until 1931

Timelines
France, 1800–1900 A.D.

The American Wing at The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Department

American Decorative Arts (12,059)

Artist / Maker / Culture

Dubuc (1)

Object Type / Material