Carriage clock, empire

Switzerland, c. 1800

Bronze, silvering, tortoise skin, brass, gilt, enamel

19,0 cm × 13,5 cm × 4,5 cm

Carriage clocks began to be built in sixteenth-century Europe, when people started travelling more. The collection’s nineteenth-century carriage clock is made of enamel, silver and brass. It shows the hours, minutes and days of the month, and also has an alarm function. The outer, decorative layer of the case is made of tortoise skin.