Stones and micromosaic clock in the form of a triumphal arch, 1804. Case: Rome, Giacomo Raffaelli; clock: Paris, Abraham-Louis Breguet.
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1804
A clock mounted on top of a triumphal arch made of red and white antique marble. To the front of the arch are four amethyst columns topped by Corinthian capitals.
In the centre and beneath the arch is a gilt-bronze statuette of Mars, standing on a stone base. Giacomo Raffaelli (1753–1836) invented the micromosaic technique. A correspondence between Vincenzo, son of Giacomo Raffaelli and head of the workshop in Milan, and his father, still in Rome, reveals that the clock was made from April to September 1804. In another letter, dated 2 September 1850, Vincenzo explains that the clock was given by Eugene de Beauharnais, viceroy of Italy, to his mother the Empress Josephine, who kept it in her château de Malmaison.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 2
- 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
- Dimensions
- Height 89.6 cm; Width 51.1 cm; Depth 21 cm
- Materials and techniques
- Hardstones, amethyst, lapis lazuli, malachite, labradorite, jasper, agate, marble, glass micromosaic, gilded bronze and clock movement.
Technical characteristics
- Place recorded
- Rome
Identification
- Candidate id
- vam-O158180
- Museum object number
- LOAN:GILBERT.4:1 to 4-2008
- Source note
- Facts transcribed from the linked single-object source. Wider type attribution and authenticity have not been independently verified.
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: confirm the wider type and source attribution against specialist references.