CHARLES ROUY, PARIS. CIRCA 1830

Details

An unusual French papier-mâché skeleton timepiece
Charles Rouy, Paris. Circa 1830
The five slender gilt decorated columns supported on a circular gilt base on brass bun feet, the winding handle to the front of the base, winding a gut line onto a long spindle within the base, the line in turn flexing a long vertical coiled spring giving 30 hours of duration, three-wheel train with lantern pinions made from dense wood, the escape wheel atop the movement with wood-rod pendulum knife-edge pendulum supported on two pins and inverted palettes, the paper dial with printed Roman chapters and blued steel hands, inscribed in black at the top Cartologes Invariable; and in gilt text below à Paris chez Ch. Rouy, Bréveté du Roi, galerie Vivienne, a l'uranorama; glass dome
17¼ in. (44 cm.) high

Literature

Roberts (Derek) Continental and American Skeleton Clocks, Schiffer, 1989, p. 111, illustrated fig. 102a & b

Special notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price plus buyer's premium.

Lot Essay

Derek Roberts, Continental Skeleton Clocks:
Papier mâché skeleton clocks are by their nature very fragile. Only a small number were made in the first instance and of these very few have survived. To find one in reasonable condition and working order is truly remarkable as almost invariably the minimum deterioration found is loss of teeth from disintegration of the wheelwork. The frame is painted white with gilt decoration and it is powered by a vertical coiled spring giving a duration of 30 hours, which is rewound through the base, thus obviating the need to remove the dome. Lantern pinions are employed, the wires for which are turned of a dense wood for the two high speed arbors and of a white material which appears to be bone for the lowest speed (centre wheel). The supports which provide the pivot holes are of horn and similar material is used for the pallets which are deadbeat

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