Louis XV Style Ormolu Cartel Clock
You must be a subscriber, and be logged in to view price and dealer details.
Subscribe Now to view actual auction price for this item
When you subscribe, you have the option of setting the currency in which to display prices to $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.
- Ormolu - Ormolu was popular with French craftsmen in the 18th and 19th century for ornamental fittings for furniture, clocks and other decorative items. True ormolu is gilt bronze, that is bronze that has been coated with gold using a mercury amalgam. Due to the health risks associated with using mercury, this method of creating ormolu was discontinued in France in the 1830s. A substitute was developed consisting of about 75% copper and 25% zinc, however it was inferior to the bronze version. It was often lacquered to prevent it tarnishing.
- Pendulum - The pendulum was discovered around 1602 by Galileo Galilei, and was adopted for time keeping by the Dutch mathematician and natural philosopher, Christiaan Huygens, who excelled in astronomy, physics, and horology.
The pendulum comprises a metal rod usually of brass or steel with a metal disk, known as a bob, at the end. The movement of the pendulum is driven by weights or a spring, and as a pendulum swings in a regular arc, it was found accuracy could be controlled to within a few seconds a week.
Timekeeping can be adjusted by changing the height of the bob on the rod, making the pendulum either swing slower or faster.
The disadvantage of the pendulum was that changes in temperature also changed the length of the pendulum, interfering with the accuracy of the clock, and so in the 18th century two types of mercurial pendulums were invented which countered the movement in the steel rod.
The pendulum was the world's most accurate timekeeping technology until the invention of the quartz clock, regulated by a quartz crystal, in 1927.
This item has been included into following indexes:
Visually similar items
A gilt bronze bracket clock, French 19th century; with two train movement, white enamel dial and rococo case surmounted by cherubs. 48 cm high
A gilt bronze Louis IV style cartel clock, French 19th century, with blue enamel numerals. 54 cm high
A gilt bronze cartel clock in the Louis XV manner, 19th century, the lavish rocaille pierced mount centred with a cream enamel dial with Arabic numerals within a cast bezel, with pendulum only; unmarked, length 46 cm, width 27 cm
A gilt bronze Louis XV style mantle clock, later 19th century, with maker's mark for Marti Et Cie, dial and mechanism also marked a La Gerbe D'or, A. Chapus Paris, the waisted clock with a fine enamel dial with partitioned Roman numerals and minute marking