Cabinet clock — Augsburg Clock, Augsburg, 1700-1725
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1700-1725
Cabinet clock in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (museum number LOAN:GILBERT.3:1-2008), made in Augsburg, dated 1700-1725. The museum's brief description reads: Silver-gilt wood, tortoiseshell, silver, mother of pearl and other materials, Augsburg; 1700-1725 and later.
Museum description: A cabinet clock of architectural form in three sections: a base with shaped borders and volutes at the corners; a central body; and a top storey with a lantern. The cabinet is faced in tortoiseshell, with borders and Corinthian columns at each corner of silver-gilt. Chinoiserie panels, inlaid mother-of-pearl, ivory, enamel and brass are set around the base and upper storey. The front of the upper storey bears a large mother-of-pearl plaque inlaid with Chinoiserie motifs and relief designs in silver-gilt.
Small silver statuettes of Buddha adorn the volutes at the base, the centre of the upper storey, and the pediment of the lantern. Figures from classical mythology appear on the sides of the cabinet. On the front of the base is a red, velvet-lined drawer containing a Meissen tea service consisting of nine pieces. Below this is another drawer containing a removable square silver-gilt inkwell and pounce pot, and having two rectangular compartments, probably intended to hold pens and… The museum records it as Wood, boulle marquetry and tortoiseshell, silver and gilded silver (silver-gilt), inlaid mother-of-pearl, ivory, enamel and brass, pietre dure, cut garnets, turquoise, micromosaic, velvet, porcelain,…, measuring Height 110.9 cm; Width 69.5 cm; Depth 50.3 cm.
These details come from the museum's own record; how far this object represents a wider collectible type has not yet been independently verified.
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
The clock was probably made for a member of the aristocracy. Anna Maria Massinelli sees a link with the politically influential countly family Schönborn based upon the repeated use of the motif of a rhinoceros in combination with the Schönborn coat-of-arms on works of art from the same period.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- wood, tortoise shell, silver, brass (alloy), bronze, lacquer, mother of pearl, ivory, hardstones, mosaic glass, reflective glass, garnet, turquoise, copper, hard paste porcelain, velvet, enamel, oil colour, silver-gilt
- Dimensions
- Height 110.9 cm; Width 69.5 cm; Depth 50.3 cm
Technical characteristics
- Technique
- Wood, boulle marquetry and tortoiseshell, silver and gilded silver (silver-gilt), inlaid mother-of-pearl, ivory, enamel and brass, pietre dure, cut garnets, turquoise, micromosaic, velvet, porcelain, mirror glass, gilt bronze, oil on copper
- Place recorded
- Augsburg
Design
- Inscriptions recorded
- APOLLO DEUS ARTIUM MERCURIUS LEGATUS DEORUM
Identification
- Museum object name
- Cabinet clock
- Museum object number
- LOAN:GILBERT.3:1-2008
- Museum system number
- O157872
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, maker and catalogue references against a specialist reference.