Carriage watch
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1630
This carriage watch was made in 1630 by the watchmaker Nicolas Lemaindre in Blois. It features a circular gilt-brass case whose side is pierced and engraved with panels of flowers and foliage arranged between 16 radial flutes. The almost flat base is soldered to the side, and the bezel, back, and rim are finished with circular tool matting. At a later date, the front case was cut out to expose the dial face, which currently lacks its glass. The front features a top suspension ring and is fitted with an internal silver striking bell.
The gilt-brass dial has an applied chapter ring marked with Roman numerals from I to XII alongside quarter-hour divisions, surrounded by an outer band of engraved foliage. The centre of the dial depicts an engraved scene of The Entombment, indicated by a single steel hour hand featuring a foliage head and an extended tail. The movement incorporates brass plates separated by Egyptian pillars, a fusee and chain, a verge escapement, a pierced and engraved balance cock, a later balance wheel with a steel spring, and a striking train with a numbered count wheel. The top movement plate is engraved with the inscription 'A Blois Nicolas Lemaindre 1630'. With its suspension ring fully extended, the piece measures 145 mm in height, 104 mm in width, and 43 mm in depth.
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.
Historical context
Carriage watches were large, robust timepieces likely made for travellers. In the seventeenth century, watchmaking in Blois rivalled Paris in the quality of movements, engraving, and enamelling, benefiting from royal patronage. Nicolas I Lemaindre served as horloger to the queen mother Marie de Médici, widow of Henri IV, during her exile in Blois, while his nephew Nicolas II Lemaindre was watchmaker to Duke Gaston d'Orléans. This watch was purchased in 1855 at the Bernal Sale at Christie's in London.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- Brass in part engraved, pierced, matted, gilded, and cast. Steel. Silver.
- Dimensions
- Height (With loose suspension ring fully extended): 145 mm; Width: 104 mm; Depth: 43 mm
Technical characteristics
- Inscriptions
- Date: Text: Research required; Latest: Research required; Earliest: Research required; Note: Engraved on top plate; Type: Research required; Medium: Research required; Method: Research required; Script: Research required; Content: 'A Blois Nicolas Lemaindre 1630'; Language: Research required; Position: Research required; Inscriber: Name: Id: Research required; Text: Research required; Association: Id: Research required; Text: Research required; Description: Research required; Translation: Research required; Interpretation: Research required; Transliteration: Research required
- Maker recorded
- Nicolas Lemaindre
- Place recorded
- Blois
Identification
- Source note
- Transcribed from the Victoria and Albert Museum collection record for this single object; how far it represents a wider collectible type has not been independently verified.
- Museum object name
- Carriage watch
- Museum object number
- 2366-1855
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.