Movement: Jean Philippe Gosselin
casing: Dumont; Paris, mid 18th century
Half hour striking train (bell); case: bronze, fire gilt, chased and punched
putto: painted porcelain; hands: gilt brass
height 52.5 cm, width 31.5 cm, depth 12.5 cm
enamel dial diameter 13 cm
Inv. 1982.1182.
Jean Philippe Cosselin became a master in 1717 in Paris; he died in 1776. One of the signatures, GOSSELIN / A PARIS, is placed on the dial (below XII and above VI), the other is engraved in italic script on the back plate, "Gosselin / A / Paris". The Rococo casing in the form of a cartouche carries the mark DUMONT on the upper left side of the back. Its various decorative elements are characteristic of the Louis XV style the waves, the wings, the volutes, the posture of the painted porcelain putto seated under a trellis like canopy. These create an anticlockwise motion in strong contrast to the functional part of the clock. Two hands indicate on a white dial the hours in Roman numerals, every five minutes in Arabic numerals, and the single minutes marked by lines.
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