Design
This French portico clock combines pale marble with dark veining, brass, and gilded decorative elements. Four slender marble columns support the cylindrical clock case, crowned by an elaborate finial with scrolling ornaments. The white dial features delicate floral garlands, black Arabic numerals, and finely worked gilt-colored hands. Its most distinctive feature is the freely swinging pendulum: the pendulum bob depicts a generous basket of flowers and fruit topped by a bow. It forms a graceful focal point between the marble columns.
Technology
The cylindrical brass case houses a French mechanical pendulum movement by Samuel Marti & Cie., movement number 615. The maker of the complete clock case is unknown. A count wheel controls the striking mechanism. On the hour, the clock strikes the corresponding number of times on a bell; a single strike sounds on the half-hour. The sound can be heard in the linked video.
Story
This clock has found a new home in Mexico.
Manufacturer
Unknown manufacturer
It is no longer possible to identify the maker of every clock with certainty. Company marks, inscriptions and other clues may have been lost over the decades. Cases and movements were also frequently made by different businesses.
Where clear evidence is lacking, we deliberately refrain from attributing a clock to a particular manufacturer. The clock itself nevertheless remains a witness to its time. Its design, technology and craftsmanship tell part of its history even when its maker is unknown.
