Musical Picture Clock with Fusee Movement
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
c. 1850
This musical picture clock, dating to circa 1850, features an oil on canvas painting depicting a riverside landscape populated with figures and buildings, including a church steeple that incorporates a clock face.
The timepiece is housed within an ornate giltwood and gesso frame decorated with relief carvings of flowers and shells at the corners. Mechanically, the object comprises a two-train clock movement that strikes the hours on a gong, alongside a separate musical movement that activates on the hour. This cylinder musical movement utilizes a fusee spring and features a sectional comb consisting of 37 sets of three teeth plus one separate bass tooth, mounted on a brass bedplate with a three-gear governor train.
The total dimensions of the piece are 27 by 31 inches (68.5 by 79 cm), with the cylinder measuring 10.5 inches (26.7 cm). The painting shows signs of age, including craquelure, overpaint, and historical repairs. Additional holes in the backboard and frame indicate the potential prior installation of a different musical component.
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.
Physical characteristics
- Materials
- Oil on canvas, giltwood, gesso, brass
- Dimensions
- 27 x 31 in. (68.5 x 79 cm)
- Cylinder width
- 10.5 in. (26.7 cm)
Technical characteristics
- Governor
- Three-gear train
- Movement
- Two-train clock movement, separate fusee cylinder musical movement
- Striking
- Hours on a gong
- Musical comb
- 37 sets of three teeth, one separate bass tooth
Design
- Frame
- Giltwood and gesso with corner relief of flowers and shells
- Subject
- Riverside landscape with figures, buildings, and a church
Identification
- Source note
- Described from a single auction-house listing published on Invaluable (reproduced with Invaluable's permission). Details apply to that one example; other examples of the type may differ, and the listing is supplementary evidence, not authentication.
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.