Cartel Clock

Artist Charles Cressent (French, 1685 - 1768)

Date1745-1750

MediumCopper alloy and mercury gilding with wood; enamel face

DimensionsOverall: 45 1/2 × 19 1/2 inches (115.57 × 49.53 cm)

Credit LinePurchase: William Rockhill Nelson Trust

Object number62-1.1,2

SignedMovement signed by Phpe Willemin a Metz bottom center of face

On View

On view

Gallery Location

Collections

Architecture, Design and Decorative Arts

Terms

DescriptionWithin large C-scroll at bottom, floating figure of Cupid with proper left arm out-thrust. At top, above clock-face, learning becapped figure of Time bearing scythe. Foliate scrolls, rocks and flowers at top, bottom, and flanking clock-face. Face bears days of weeks inner circle, minute-scale and months of year at outer circle.Exhibition History

Exhibition History

French Clocks In North American Collections. The Frick Collection, New York, New York, November 2, 1982–January 31, 1983, no. 48.

Gallery Label

Charles Cressent, trained as sculptor, was one of the foremost cabinetmakers in 18th-century France. More than merely a functional object, this clock by Cressent is an elaborate wall sculpture. The figure of Time with scythe in hand as a reminder of the transitory nature of life hovers above the dial on a cluster of clouds. Below the clock's dial, Love reclines on the large "C" scroll and waves his hand to ward off the encroaching realities that Time is sure to bring. The theme of Love's attempts to escape Time's inevitable triumph is played out among flowers, rock formations and seashells modeled in refined detail by Cressent. The clock takes its name from the cartel, or point, at the bottom of the case.

Provenance

Baron Gustave Samuel James de Rothschild, Baron de Rothschild (1829–1911), Paris, by 1911;

By descent to his granddaughter, Baroness Betty de Bonstetten (née Lambert, 1894-1969), Thun, Switzerland, by June 5, 1961;

Purchased from Betty de Bonstetten by Rosenberg and Stiebel, New York, stock no. 4203, on joint account with the Établissement pour Culture et Arts, Vaduz, Liechtenstein, June 5, 1961-January 8, 1962 [1];

Purchased from Rosenberg and Stiebel by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 1962.

NOTES:

[1] Frick Art Reference Library, MS.065, Rosenberg & Stiebel archive, Sales and Inventory Records-Purchases and Sales, 1959-1970, copies in Nelson-Atkins curatorial files. Rosenberg & Stiebel paid a small commission to Eric de Goldschmidt-Rothschild (1894-1987) at the time of their purchase from Betty de Bonstetten. Eric was Betty’s sister Renée’s longtime partner, as well as Betty’s former brother-in-law; Betty’s first marriage to her third cousin Baron Rudolf Maximillian von Goldschmidt-Rothschild (1881-1962) ended in divorce in 1921. Eric de Goldschmidt-Rothschild’s role in the transaction is currently unclear; research is ongoing.

Published References

T. Dell, “The Gilt-bronze Cartel Clocks of Charles Cressent,” Burlington Magazine, v. 109 (April 1967), 213, 214, 211 (repro.).

Winthrop Edey and Frick Collection. French Clocks in North American Collections: The Frick Collection (New York: Frick Collection, 1982), 56.

Edgar Munhall, “Exhibition Reviews” The Burlington Magazine, Vol. CXXV. No. 959 (February 1983): 121.

Ross E. Taggart and George L. McKenna, eds., Handbook of the Collections in The William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, Kansas City, Missouri, vol. 1, Art of the Occident, 5^th ed. (Kansas City, MO: William Rockhill Nelson Gallery of Art and Mary Atkins Museum of Fine Arts, 1973), 229 (repro.).

Ellen R. Goheen, The Collections of the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1988), 92-93, 93 (repro.).

John Fleming and Hugh Honour. The Penguin Dictionary of Decorative Arts ( New ed. London: Viking, 1989), 129 (repro.).

Information about a particular artwork or image, including provenance information, is based upon historic information and may not be currently accurate or complete. Research on artwork and images is an ongoing process, and the information about a particular artwork or image may not reflect the most current information available to the Museum. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about a particular artwork or image, please e-mail provenance@nelson-atkins.org.