RARE TRAVELLING CLOCK ‘TRIPTYCH’ Planchon Paris Ca. 1890 France

M&R285

RARE TRAVELLING CLOCK IN THE SHAPE OF A TRIPTYCH
Signed Planchon Paris
Circa 1890
France

Movement
The spring-driven circular brass movement consists of going and striking trains. The going train has an anchor escapement. The striking mechanism indicates the hours in full and the half hours with one stroke on a gong. The movement is wound at the front. The movement is signed on the back plate: Planchon Paris.

Dial
The carved wooden front has a chapter ring with Gothic hour numerals. The time is indicated by a pair of blued steel hands.

Case
The polychrome carved wooden, neo-Gothic case consists of a triptych, with the side panels each consisting of two parts. They thus enclose the movement with a part on the side and a part on the front. The panels are decorated with beautifully carved figures, each panel depicting a poor character on the bottom half and a rich person on the top half. In the centre is the dial plate with beautifully pierced sides, which is surmounted by an angel figure. When the panels are closed, the hinges and the beautifully shaped lock are visible. The door at the rear also has hinges and a lock.

Duration: 1 week

Height: 23.5 cm.
Width: 31cm/10cm. (with doors closed)
Depth: 10 cm.

Literature
Tardy, Dictionnaire des Horlogers Français, Paris, 1971, p. 525.

The maker
Mathieu Planchon was born in Bourges in 1842. He came from a family of watchmakers. He started as an apprentice with his father. In 1862 he toured France and met Robert Houdin in 1865 and Philippe in 1868. He settled in the Montpensier Gallery in the Palais Royal in Paris in 1870 and stayed there until his death in 1921. He was influenced by the famous French architect, monument restorer and art historian Viollet le Duc and specialized in Gothic art, something that was then was in fashion. He developed his own style, known as the ‘Style Planchon’, which made him special. It was inspired by the Louis XIV and XV styles. He published several books and contributed to a major watch exhibition in 1900.