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Object Overview
These incredibly refined miniature carriage clock with barometer, dating to the late 20th century, represent a vivid example of handcrafted work that deliberately evokes a bygone era. The term carriage clock entered common usage in the English-speaking world no later than the mid-19th century. The very name reflected the essential quality of such clocks—their portability on journeys, their purpose of accompanying the owner while traveling. In France, such pieces were known as pendules de voyage, emphasizing their role as traveling companions. Closely related types included pendules d’officier (so-called “officer’s clocks”) and pendules portatives (“portable clocks”), all belonging to a special category of portable horology.
The clock and barometer are placed side by side in a single cast case of polished and lacquered brass or bronze, set on toupie feet. The case is fitted with a handle for easy carrying, as well as tiny rear doors granting access to the mechanisms, particularly for winding and adjusting the clock.
The upper panels of the case include a viewing window of mineral glass with a faceted edge, allowing a glimpse of the inner workings. Similar glass panes protect the dials of both the clock and the barometer.
3018
hygroscopicity
brass, bronze, glass, iron, plastic, porcelain
All sides of the case (including the rear doors) are decorated with porcelain panels in the “Sèvres style,” inspired by or imitating the celebrated Manufacture nationale de Sèvres. These miniature hand-painted porcelain plaques follow the tradition of decorative inlays for clocks and instruments of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Belle Époque. In the central oval medallions appear a sequence of pastoral scenes: a gentleman and lady in 18th-century costume strolling together; a gallant suitor conversing intimately with a lady in a yellow gown; a young man in a crimson coat and violet hat bending with a basket as though gathering fruit in a garden. The medallions are set against a turquoise-blue ground—also known as “robin’s egg blue” or “Tiffany Blue”—characteristic of French decorative ceramics. Each oval is framed by a broad gilt border with embossed ornament. Over the blue ground runs an intricate pattern of gilded scrolls and latticework, with small rosettes of raised red and white enamel at the corners.
The porcelain dials of both the clock and barometer are decorated in nearly identical fashion, with gilded vegetal motifs and lattice patterns that frame the compositions. The clock dial shows a blue ground with gilt decoration at the corners, accented by red and white enamel rosettes; its lower section bears gilded lattice and scrollwork. In the center is a pastoral putti scene: two winged cherubs in playful motion, one holding a ribbon, the other raising its arms, suggesting dance and gaiety. The barometer (in fact a hygrometer) repeats this theme: two nude putti with pink drapery occupy the center of the scale, their gestures expressing joy and carefree delight. The surrounding scale, however, is marked not in pressure but in relative humidity, from 0 to 100% in steps of 10, with traditional weather terms (“Stormy, Rain, Change, Fair, Very Dry”) serving only as decorative inscriptions.
This brings us to the instrument’s true purpose. Though consistently described at auction and in private listings as a barometer, the mechanism reveals otherwise. Behind the dial, visible through the viewing window above and the rear door, lies a metal capsule with a wavy surface pattern resembling an aneroid cell. Yet this is purely cosmetic: behind it sits the actual working element, a hygrometer composed of a hygroscopic strip wound into a spiral and encased in a protective plastic housing. Thus the dial registers relative humidity, and the weather terms are ornamental rather than functional.
The clock itself features a platform escapement with balance, mounted horizontally between vertical plates of the movement. It has an eight-day duration and is supplied with a double-ended key for both winding and adjusting the hands.
In conclusion, this carriage clock with hygrometer masquerading as a barometer combines decorative fantasy with horological tradition, blending Belle Époque aesthetics with modern construction to create a fascinating hybrid of function and ornament.