Lepaute 'Urania' Musical Mantel Clock
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
circa 1780
This ormolu mantel clock, representing Urania, the muse of astronomy, depicts the draped muse holding a telescope beside a clock case resting upon stacked books.
Accompanying scientific attributes include a celestial globe, maps, and astronomical instruments. The white enamel dial features radial Arabic numerals, pierced gilt hands, and winding apertures. According to auction cataloguers, the time movement is a firegilt round brass full plate movement with an anchor escapement, count wheel, and short pendulum striking the hours and half-hours on a single bell. The base houses an associated musical movement with gut and fusee, governor, 17 bells, and 27 hammers playing six melodies.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Technical characteristics
- Type
- Mantel clock
- Dimensions
- Height 520 mm
- Clock Movement
- Round brass full plate movement, firegilt, 1 hammer / 1 bell, 2 barrels, anchor escapement, count wheel, short pendulum
- Place recorded
- France
- Dial Description
- Enamel, radial Arabic numerals, signed, pierced and gilt hands
- Musical Movement
- Heavy brass movement with gut/fusee and governor, large pinned brass barrel with vibrating blades, 17 bells and 27 hammers
- Maker / attribution
- Lepaute
Design
- Visible features
- • Gilt-bronze figure of Urania seated draped in classical garb, holding a small telescope in her right hand. • Circular clock drum topped by ribbon bow decoration, resting upon sculpted books. • White enamel dial signed 'Lepaute' with radial Arabic hour numerals, outer dotted and five-minute Arabic minute track, and pierced gilt hands. • Celestial globe with banded star patterns positioned beneath the drapery of the figure. • A scroll and astronomical quadrant or protractor instrument rest at the base.
- Dial Display and Movement Mechanisms
- The time is displayed on a white enamel dial signed 'Lepaute', featuring radial Arabic hour numerals, pierced gilt hands, winding apertures, and an outer minute ring with dotted indices and five-minute Arabic markers. Neither internal mechanism is visible in the lot photograph, but the auction house reports that the timekeeping section consists of a round, firegilt brass full plate movement powered by two barrels, governed by an anchor escapement with a short pendulum, and sounding the hours and half-hours via a count wheel, single hammer, and single bell. Housed within the base is a heavy brass musical movement with gut line and fusee, a governor, and a large pinned barrel with vibrating blades acting on 17 bells and 27 hammers to play six melodies.
- Composition and Allegorical Case Design
- The mantel clock presents an allegorical composition executed in ormolu, depicting Urania, the muse of astronomy. The classically draped figure holds a handheld telescope in her right hand while leaning against a circular clock drum resting upon a stack of sculpted books. The drum itself is surmounted by a ribbon bow and flanked by laurel leaf decoration. Arranged around the muse are various scientific attributes, including an astronomical quadrant or protractor, an unrolled map scroll, and a banded celestial globe nestled beneath her drapery. According to the auction catalogue, the rectangular base features sound holes on all sides formed as open-work arches decorated with flowers and lined with red silk to emit sound from the musical mechanism.
- Dating, Stylistic Attribution, and Evidence Limitations
- The auction description assigns the clock an approximate date of circa 1780 and references scholarly comparisons, noting that Ottomeyer and Pröschel illustrate an almost identical model associated with Pierre-Antoine Foullet and attributed to sculptor Augustin Pajou. The listing also discusses Pierre-Basile Lepaute (1750–1843) and his later imperial titles. However, the physical evidence remains subject to significant documentation constraints. The internal clockwork, musical movement, silk-lined base sound holes, and rear case are unillustrated in the cataloguing, precluding independent confirmation of their mechanical condition, maker's stamps, or originality.
Identification
- Source note
- Facts transcribed from the linked source listing or collection record. Attribution and specifications are source-reported and have not been independently authenticated.
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: The internal clock and musical movements are not visible in the photograph and rely entirely on auction house descriptions.
- Research required: The lower portion of the rectangular base is partially cropped at the bottom of the photograph.