Object Description
This Boulle wall clock is comprised of two components: the clock body and the bracket upon which the clock body sits. The wooden clock case is violin shaped and, where not decorated with brass inlayed with tortoiseshell, this wood has been ebonised. The edges of the clock case are mounted with gilt bronze friezes and other gilt bronze motifs, such as foliage forms and Classical masks. Most distinctively, the front of the clock case, as well as the interior visible through the open front, is decorated with brass inlayed with tortoiseshell. This inlay has been formed into geometrical and foliate motifs, as well as a Classical figure, the form of which is the centrepiece of the inlay ornamenting the backboard. The top of the case is surmounted by a gilt bronze figure of winged Mercury.
The wall-mounted bracket upon which the case sits is similarly decorated, with ebonised wood and gilt bronze mounts predominating. The white enamel clock dial is inscribed with both Roman numeral hour marks and superscript Arabic numeral five-minute markers.
The movement is signed ‘Robert et fils a la Chaux des Fonds’.
Clock- Height 104cm, width 49cm, depth 19cm
Bracket- Height 45cm, width 57cm, depth 30cm