French clocks of the 18th and 19th centuries — a guide for the new collector

A staple of the French decorative arts in the 18th and 19th centuries, French clocks occupy a vital role in any well-rounded collection. These antique timepieces — often featuring ormolu (gilt bronze) and other luxurious materials — not only blend seamlessly with furnishings of their own period; they also offer the perfect counterpoint when set amongst modern furniture or contemporary art.

The ormolu clock-cases of France embody the intersection of functional objects and bronze sculpture. Most French clocks, until the reign of Louis XVI, employed relatively simple clockwork mechanisms. Although timekeeping grew more precise over the course of the 18th century, collectors valued these objects less for their mechanical innovation than for the brilliant decorative artistry of their cases and the renowned names of their designers. The designs of these magnificient cases evolved constantly to reflect the fashions of the elite tastemakers of their day, ranging from the playful Rococo creations of the Louis XV period, defined by inventive organic shapes, to the stately and restrained Neoclassical forms of the Louis XVI style, recalling the majesty of Antiquity.

Types of French ormolu clocks

Clocks in 18th-century France were manufactured in distinct forms and types, each according to its placement in the interior. The most common of these were mantel, cartel, bracket and longcase or régulateur. Mantel clocks, as their name suggests, were set on fireplaces as well as furniture, including bookcases and cartonniers. Cartel clocks were hung on the wall. A cartel clock’s size provides a clue to its intended placement: small and delicate clocks were often hung in alcoves, whereas larger ones were destined for more prominent locations where they could be fully admired for their size and lavishness.

Contemporaneous paintings depicting interiors often feature such clocks in situ. Longcase clocks stood against the wall, integrating with the grandest works of case furniture in the room, as well as the carefully composed wall elevations and boiseries that surrounded them.

Regardless of type, French clocks were executed with the utmost artistry. A single clock was the product of master artisans from multiple trade guilds, including the clockmaker, or horloger, as well as the bronzier, the chaser, the gilder and the enameller. Clocks incorporating luxurious materials such as marble and porcelain necessitated even further expertise from yet more maîtres of the trades. French clocks sometimes bear as many as three signatures, reflecting the makers of the case, the movement and dial, and the enamelling for the dial.

Decorative themes of French clocks

Whether hung on the wall or placed on a fireplace, clocks from the 18th and 19th centuries reflect the prevailing decorative themes of their time. Clocks of the Régence period tend to carry on the grand spirit of Baroque France. They often sit in sturdy rectangular cases on a bracket mounted with precious ormolu, which had not yet become their primary material. By the early years of Louis XV’s reign, however, clocks the fashion arose for clocks executed entirely in gilt bronze. Compared to their predecessors, these new creations were remarkably abstract and inventive in shape, often comprising curvilinear and organic forms such as cartouches, scrolls, flowers and rocailles, frequently appended with human or exotic animal figures.

The costliest models were those designed with secondary precious materials such as porcelain, lacquer and horn. By the mid-1700s, human figures became even more prevalent and by the 1770s, the principal decorative element of clocks was often the human form — typically allegories or figures from mythology.

As the Louis XVI style took hold, another new fashion emerged, drawing upon the arena of architecture. Designers now devised ingenious and delightful cases based on the Roman and Greek prototypes that motivated the fashionable 'Antique' taste, with miniature obelisks, arches, columns, temples and tombs rising to surround clock faces. Marble and porcelain, among other materials, also grew in popularity and even became the primary material for some cases.

During the Empire period and in the subsequent restoration of the monarchy in the 1820s, there arose greater emphasis on the narrative quality of figurative sculpture on clocks. A model might now depict a specific literary or mythological scene, often adapted from the composition of a noteworthy painting or an interpretation of a textual source.

Following the stately Neoclassicism of the Empire, clockmakers during the Bourbon Restoration (1814-1830) and the July Monarchy (1830-1848), as well as the Second Empire (1852-1870), returned to the aesthetics of the Ancien Régime, resulting in the revival of the courtly styles popular during the reigns of Louis XV and XVI.

Many of these revival pieces were executed with scrupulous faithfulness to the 18th-century prototypes. Differentiating them from original examples can require careful examination.