Mantel clock (pendule à console)

Clockmaker: probably Jean-Philippe Gosselin French

Case maker: Jean-Joseph de Saint Germain French

ca. 1750

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 529

Ornamental bronzes—which are easily cast from molds and made to simulate solid gold or, occasionally, solid silver by the application of thin layers of precious metals—were ubiquitous in the décor and furnishings of an eighteenth-century French palace, townhouse, or château. This clock, signed by one of the most admired bronze founder-chasers, Jean-Joseph de Saint Germain, has lost all of its original gilding but preserves the undulating scrolls interspersed with floral motifs that are characteristic of French rococo design at its liveliest.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Mantel clock (pendule à console)
Maker: Clockmaker: probably Jean-Philippe Gosselin (French, recorded as master in Paris 1717, died 1766)
Maker: Case maker: Jean-Joseph de Saint Germain (French, 1719–1791)
Date: ca. 1750
Culture: French, Paris
Medium: Case: bronze, formerly gilded, silvered or lacquered; dial: white enamel, with black numerals; movement: brass and steel
Dimensions: Overall: 16 × 12 in. (40.6 × 30.5 cm)
Classification: Horology
Credit Line: Bequest of Ogden Mills, 1929
Object Number: 37.160.9
Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

Mantel clock (horloge de cheminée), Jean-Joseph de Saint Germain French, Gilded and chased bronze; white enamel, French — Mantel clock (horloge de cheminée)
Case by Jean-Joseph de Saint Germain
Movement by Charles Leroy
ca. 1745

Bassoon, Dominique Antony Porthaux French, Maple, brass, French — Bassoon
Dominique Antony Porthaux
1790–1800

Mantel clock (pendule de cheminée), Julien Le Roy French, Case: gilded and patinated bronze on a base of oak veneered with ebony with gilded-bronze mounts; Dial: white enamel with black numerals; Movement: brass and steel, French, Paris — Mantel clock (pendule de cheminée)
Movement by the workshop of Julien Le Roy
Case maker: Joseph Baumhauer
Modeler Bronze figure from a model by Laurent Guiard
ca. 1757–60

Potpourri vase (pot-pourri gondole), Sèvres Manufactory French, Soft-paste porcelain decorated in polychrome enamels, gold, French, Sèvres — Potpourri vase (pot-pourri gondole)
Manufactory Sèvres Manufactory
Modeler Jean-Claude Duplessis
Decorator Attributed to Charles Nicolas Dodin
1757

Armor of Infante Luis, Prince of Asturias (1707–1724), Jean Drouart French, Steel, gold, brass, silk, cotton, metallic yarn, paper, French, Paris — Armor of Infante Luis, Prince of Asturias (1707–1724)
Armorer Signature probably refers to Jean Drouart
dated 1712

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.