The displayed clock is the oldest in the collection of the Museum Estate. The mechanism was assembled in the third quarter of the 18th century by the famous Parisian clockmaker of the Louis XVI era, a recognized master of complex musical clock making and automatons, Michel Stollenwerck.
Michel Stollenwerck was born in Germany around 1720. He defended his title of master of clockmaking in Paris on April 14, 1746. His clocks were such high-quality and unusual that several copies were presented as gifts to the Chinese emperor, Qianlong, and the Great Mogul (as the padeshah of India was called in Europe). In December 1988, the clock was purchased at an exhibition at the Moscow art salon for the Museum Estate.
The case of the table clock is made of hardwood and finished in mahogany veneer. The clock mechanism is located in the upper part. One can access the face through the glass door in the front. The top of the case is made in the shape of an urn framed with flower garlands. The middle part of the case is narrowed and adorned with a decorative gilded bronze plate in the form of a fruit vase. The body rests on a wide base with elegant legs.
On the round brass dial, one can see the name of the manufacturer — ‘Stollenverck a Paris’ (‘Stollenwerck in Paris’). The face is quite traditional and features Roman numerals. The clock has two openwork hands — the hour and minute hands.
The clock mechanism is very high quality. Its circuit design is typical for the clocks made at French factories of the second half of the 18th century. It features an anchor escapement, two suspension springs, and a half-hour striking mechanism with a counting wheel. The markings on the wheel indicate the number of hours corresponding to the current sector (hammer strikes). The pendulum is suspended on a silk thread. The clock movement can be controlled using a special key (a crank) to adjust the axis which can be accessed through an opening in the upper part of the dial.
The clock marks every hour and half an hour with the appropriate number of single strikes on the bell fixed on the backplate (base) of the mechanism. An inscription in French is also engraved on this part — ‘Stollenwerck a Paris’.
Michel Stollenwerck was born in Germany around 1720. He defended his title of master of clockmaking in Paris on April 14, 1746. His clocks were such high-quality and unusual that several copies were presented as gifts to the Chinese emperor, Qianlong, and the Great Mogul (as the padeshah of India was called in Europe). In December 1988, the clock was purchased at an exhibition at the Moscow art salon for the Museum Estate.
The case of the table clock is made of hardwood and finished in mahogany veneer. The clock mechanism is located in the upper part. One can access the face through the glass door in the front. The top of the case is made in the shape of an urn framed with flower garlands. The middle part of the case is narrowed and adorned with a decorative gilded bronze plate in the form of a fruit vase. The body rests on a wide base with elegant legs.
On the round brass dial, one can see the name of the manufacturer — ‘Stollenverck a Paris’ (‘Stollenwerck in Paris’). The face is quite traditional and features Roman numerals. The clock has two openwork hands — the hour and minute hands.
The clock mechanism is very high quality. Its circuit design is typical for the clocks made at French factories of the second half of the 18th century. It features an anchor escapement, two suspension springs, and a half-hour striking mechanism with a counting wheel. The markings on the wheel indicate the number of hours corresponding to the current sector (hammer strikes). The pendulum is suspended on a silk thread. The clock movement can be controlled using a special key (a crank) to adjust the axis which can be accessed through an opening in the upper part of the dial.
The clock marks every hour and half an hour with the appropriate number of single strikes on the bell fixed on the backplate (base) of the mechanism. An inscription in French is also engraved on this part — ‘Stollenwerck a Paris’.
