A cartel clock is a

cartouche In Egyptian hieroglyphs, a cartouche is an oval with a line at one end tangent to it, indicating that the text enclosed is a royal name. The first examples of the cartouche are associated with pharaohs at the end of the Third Dynasty, but the f ...

shaped

clock A clock or a timepiece is a device used to measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units such as the day, the lunar month and t ...

designed to hang directly on a wall, very commonly executed in fire-gilt bronze (a.k.a.

ormolu Ormolu (; from French ''or moulu'', "ground/pounded gold") is the gilding technique of applying finely ground, high-carat gold– mercury amalgam to an object of bronze, and for objects finished in this way. The mercury is driven off in a kiln le ...

). The form is a more unified development from a wall-mounted

bracket clock A bracket clock is a style of antique portable table clock made in the 17th and 18th centuries. The term originated with small weight-driven pendulum clocks (sometimes called 'true bracket clocks') that had to be mounted on a bracket on the wall ...

standing upon its separate, complementary bracket characteristic of the

Régence The ''Régence'' (, ''Regency'') was the period in French history between 1715 and 1723 when King Louis XV was considered a minor and the country was instead governed by Philippe d'Orléans (a nephew of Louis XIV of France) as prince regen ...

(1715–23), which continued to be stylish in Paris through the 1740s. In Paris, where the

ébéniste ''Ébéniste'' () is a loanword (from French) for a cabinet-maker, particularly one who works in ebony. Etymology and ambiguities As opposed to ''ébéniste'', the term ''menuisier'' denotes a woodcarver or chairmaker in French. The English equiva ...

's wooden contribution to the case and wall bracket, conceived as complements in design, was by degrees overshadowed by gilt-bronze mounts. wholly gilt-bronze bracket clock cases became most common by ''ca'' 1730. The cartel clock, incorporating clock case and bracket in a single unified organic sculptural conception, was a

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

invention initiated in Paris. Highly ornate Rococo examples exist, with flowing, asymmetrical and curvilinear designs, the most notable being a series of unified cartel clocks in half a dozen related models, dateable to the 1730s and 40s and attributed (some of them signed) to Charles Cressent. The style that originated in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

was used there from ''ca'' 1730 through the reign of

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...

. With the return of classicism under

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

, however, cartel clocks fell from favour in Paris, where the domestic clock moved to the mantel. In provincial French cities, and elsewhere on the Continent, cartel clocks were made in the neoclassical style (''illustration, right'') The style was adapted in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, Sweden and Switzerland, with the style used for clocks executed in wood and decorated with gold leaf. Such cartel clocks were made into the 19th century.Ernst von Bassermann-Jordan: ''Uhren; Ein Handbuch für Sammler und Liebhaber''. Richard Carl Schmidt & Co. Berlin 1920; p.46 With the "Second Rococo" beginning ''ca'' 1830, mid-18th century models were revived or imitated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cartel Clock Clock designs