Objekt 4
Large Cartel clock
Description
The richly carved clock case, painted in various shades of gold, depicts a pair of beaked doves above a crossed scythe and torch, entwined by a serpent. It is an allegorical representation of the triumph of love over death.
The clock originally came from the "Württemberger Hof" and was commissioned by Johann Rudolf Forcart-Weiss (1749-1834) from the renowned French sculptor Aubert Parent in the course of redesigning the house and garden. Parent worked in Germany and Switzerland after the French Revolution and was also involved as a garden architect in the redesign of the gardens of the "Württemberger Hof" (today the area of the Art Museum).
Object description
Case maker: Aubert Joseph Parent (1753-1833)
Case: lime wood, carved, set, gilded; dial: enamel, hands: metal
Movement: brass; verge escapement; hour and quarter strike on two bells, without signature
Basel, around 1800
Gift of the Association for the Basel Historical Museum
Inv. 1988.87.