Watch

David Lestourgeon|Hugh Richardson|Henry Rawlings

ca. 1702 · Outer and inner cases: silver; Dial: champlevé silver · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Pendulum watches attest to the success of the pendulum clock, although in reality these watches employ the standard balance for controlling the escapement. The movement is inverted in its case so that the balance is directly under the dial, and a bob attached to the balance shows through the crescent-shaped slot in the dial, where its oscillations resemble those of a true pendulum. Lestourgeon, a master clockmaker in Rouen in 1660, moved to London in 1681, no doubt as the result of the increasing intolerance of Protestants in France. He became a member of the London Clockmakers’ Company in 1698.

Artist

David Lestourgeon|Hugh Richardson|Henry Rawlings

Date

ca. 1702

Medium

Outer and inner cases: silver; Dial: champlevé silver

Culture

British, London

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917