Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Watch with a Guilloché Case with Pearls
(18th and 19th Centuries )
The case of this watch showcases a process called guilloché, where subtle but kaleidoscopic effects are created through mechanical means. Geometric shapes are carved into metal by engine turning. The resulting patterns of fine lines are covered with transparent enamel. When light hits them it creates oscillating optic effects. Here, five or six layers of translucent enamel have been fired successively over these engraved patterns to achieve a brillant blue.
Inscription
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Anatole Demidoff [1812-1870], Prince of San Donato. Tiffany and Co., New York, prior to 1893 [1]. Acquired by Henry Walters, Baltimore; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
[1] on 1893 list, no. 20
Geographies
Switzerland
(Place of Origin)
France, Paris (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Diam: 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
58.98