A cartel clock is a clock designed to hang directly on the wall. Most often used in reference to highly ornate mid-18th-century Rococo examples. These flowing, curvilinear designs are executed in gilt bronze (aka ormolu).
A very fine example of the cartel clock can be found in the Linsky Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It is a rare example. Even though it is missing many of the applied porcelain flowers that adorned it, it is largely intact. Of note is the fact that it has no striking mechanism. It is therefore speculated that it was to be placed in a bedroom. Therefore it has no bell or chime to disturb the occupants sleep. See Jack and Belle Linsky Collection catalogue published by MMA.
An English giltwood cartel clock by John Fladgate (worked in Conduit Street, London, 1740s to 1780s) was sold in Chicago in 2009 for $2440.
Famous quotes containing the word clock:
“What says the Clock in the Great Clock Tower?
And all alone comes riding there
The King that could make his people stare,
Because he had feathers instead of hair.
A slow low note and an iron bell.”
—William Butler Yeats (1865–1939)