Mantel Clock in the Form of a Lyre

French clockmaking at the time of Louis XVI is unsurpassed in the delicacy and grace of its decoration and in the imagination displayed in its forms. Perhaps the most elegant shape was that of the lyre, derived from the ancient Greek musical instrument. It was introduced as early as 1758 and was employed for important clocks throughout the remainder of the century. The body of this example is of Sèvres porcelain with exceptionally fine, applied, gilt-bronze ornaments. The upper part of the pendulum is formed to represent the strings of the instrument. The dial face is enameled with signs of the zodiac by the distinguished Geneva-born artist Jean Coteau (ca. 1739-1812), and is signed Kinable (active 1780-1825).

Inscription

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.

Collection of Peter Robert Drummond-Burrell, 2nd Baron Gwydyr, 22nd Baron Willoughby de Eresby (1782–1865). Collection of Edwin Marriott Hodgkins (1860–1932), by 1908 [1] until 1928 [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; with A. Seligmann, Rey and Co., New York, by 1928 [mode of acquisition unknown]; purchased by Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1928; by bequest to the Walters Art Museum, 1931.

[1]. “Sèvres Porcelain” The Morning Post (London): p. 5: “Many of the finest objects of Sèvres porcelain…are now on view at Mr. E. M. Hodgkins’s Galleries, New Bond-street…. More resplendent in character are a pair of bleu du Roi vases, a pair of boat-shaped vases, and a lyre-shaped clock, once the property of Lord Willoughby de Eresby."