English: Bracket clock, about 1710, J Paulet V&A Museum no. 420-1869

Techniques - Chased gilt brass and parcel-gilt silver

Place - London, England

Dimensions - Height 19.5 cm, Width 10 cm, Depth 7.5 cm

Object Type - Small clocks such as this example are thought to have been used when travelling. Too large to be used in a carriage, they were designed to be carried from place to place. It has been suggested that they might well have been used on board ship, fitted into a case fixed to the wall of a cabin.

People - Little is known about the maker who signed himself 'Paulet'. A number of clocks with his signature are recorded and he seems to have had wealthy clients. A clock by him in the Metropolitan Museum, New York, still has its original key, which bears the royal monogram of Queen Anne (ruled 1702-1714). The distinctly Continental style of his clocks and his French name suggest that he was a Huguenot (French Protestant emigré).

Design -

The clock strikes hours in passing and repeats the hours and quarters. The central dial at the front is used to set the alarm, and the pointer on the top dial is for the calendar. The clock was not an eight-day clock; it had to be wound more frequently. The gilt-brass decoration on the sides of the case owes much to the influence of Daniel Marot (1663-1752), a French architect and printmaker active in The Netherlands, whose designs were very fashionable in England when this clock was made.