Barometer Clock

Barometer Clock (Boulle) by André-Charles Boulle is a late seventeenth-century French clock created out of ebony, turtle shell, brass, gilt bronze, and enamel. The clock case is decorated on all sides and was intended as either a centerpiece or for display on a mantel in front of a mirror.[1] The centerpiece of the clock is a relief of "Father Time Carrying Off Truth."[2]

Barometer Clock
ArtistCase by: André-Charles Boulle (1642 - 1732); Movement by: Isaac Thuret (1630 - 1706); Movement by: or Jacques Thuret (1669 - 1738)
Yearca. 1690-1700 (ca. 1690-1700)
MediumEbony, turtle shell, brass, gilt bronze, and enamel
Dimensions45 1/4 x 23 1/8 x 10 1/4 in. (114.9 x 58.7 x 26 cm)
Websitecollections.frick.org/view/objects/asitem/items$0040:1562

This late seventeenth-century clock also functions as a barometer; the "two doors on the rear of the clock open to reveal a glass tube containing mercury and a float to which thread is attached."[1] The semicircular barometer dial indicates five weather conditions from one extreme, beaucoup de pluye (rainy), to the other, beau fixe (fine).[3]

Boulle, who gave his name to the type of veneering on this clock, is listed in the French Archives Nationales as a cabinet maker, maker of marquetry, and gilder and chaser of bronzes. [2]

The clock movement design is by either Isaac Thuret or his son Jacques Thuret. The dial and backplate of the movement are both signed "I. Thuret...", the character I and J being interchangeable during the period.[2]

Barometer Clock (Boulle) back

Acquisition

The Barometer Clock was acquired by The Frick Collection through the bequest of New York collector Winthrop Kellogg Edey in 1999. Edey's bequest included twenty-five clocks and fourteen watches as well as his library and archives.[4]

Exhibition
  • "Magnificent Timekeepers: An Exhibition of Northern European Clocks in New York Collections,” 1972, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
  • "French Clocks in North American Collections," November 2, 1982 - January 30, 1983, The Frick Collection.
  • "The Art of the Timekeeper: Masterpieces from the Winthrop Edey Bequest," November 14, 2001 - February 24, 2002, The Frick Collection.

See also

References
  1. Edey, Winthrop. French Clocks in North American Collections: Exhibition at the Frick Collection, November 2, 1982 - January 30, 1983. The Frick Collection, 1982. pgs. 40-44.
  2. “Magnificent Timekeepers: An Exhibition of Northern European Clocks in New York Collections” by Clare Vincent, Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, February/March 1972.
  3. The Art of the Timekeeper: Masterpieces from the Winthrop Edey Bequest, exhibition at The Frick Collection, November 14, 2001 - February 24, 2002. The Frick Collection, 2001.
  4. Frick Collection press release, The Art of the Timekeeper: Masterpieces from the Winthrop Edey Bequest.
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