4x5 transparency scanned on Hasselblad Flextight X1 by Ed Pollard-2022

Images(2)

Image scanned from a transparency and color-corrected by Pat Cagney.

George Washington Mantle Clock

Maker Jacques Nicholas Pierre François Dubuc (French, active 1790 - 1830)

Dateca. 1815-1819

MediumGilded brass, iron, and enamel

DimensionsOverall: 19 1/2 x 14 1/4 x 5 3/4 in. (49.5 x 36.2 x 14.6 cm)

ClassificationsDecorative arts

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number78.134

Terms

Empire
Paris

On View

Not on view

DescriptionRectangular plinth decorated with leaves and a plaque depicting an officer giving his sword to a man seated on a throne. Mounted on this base is a fully realized figure of George Washington with a scroll in his hand. His arm rests on an oblong clock with a sheath of arrows and other decorative devices. The clock has a banner with the following: "Washington/First in War, First in Peace,/first in the hearts of his countrymen." The clock is surmounted by an eagle with an olive branch in one claw and a sheath of arrows in the other and rests on a plinth inscribed: "E Pluribus Unum".

Label TextJacques Nicolas Pierre François Dubuc French, active ca. 1790–1830 George Washington Mantle Clock, Paris, ca. 1815–19 Gilded brass, iron, and enamel Most French Neoclassical mantle clocks feature mythological heroes or goddesses, but Jacques Dubuc designed several models with the standing figure of George Washington for export to the United States. In both America and France, the restrained elegance of the classical ornaments decorating this piece appealed to those who admired ancient Greece and Rome’s cultural achievements and republican forms of government. The bas-relief on the clock’s base shows Washington resigning his military commission, symbolizing the new nation’s commitment to shared civilian government. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 78.134