Antiques M.S. Rau | French Conical Pendulum Mystery Clock

A Beautiful Example Of French Horology At Its Finest, This Conical Pendulum Mystery Clock Was Crafted By Renowned French Clockmaker And Mathematician Achille Brocot. This Exquisite Timepiece Is Surmounted By A Delightful Neoclassical Goddess Figure Fashioned Out Of Gilt Bronze. Classically Draped In Fabric, The Figure Holds An Amphora In One Hand And Grasps The Clock’S Pendulum In The Other. The Figure Stands Upon An Exquisite Alabaster Pedestal That Houses The Timepiece And Is Adorned With Patinated Metal Flourishes.

The Famed Clockmaker Is Known For His Discovery Of The Stern–Brocot Tree, A Mathematical Structure Useful In Approximating Real Numbers By Rational Numbers Which Aids With An Important Part Of The Design Of Gear Ratios For Clocks. Additionally, He Invented The “Brocot Suspension,” Refined Of His Father Louis-Gabriel’S Brocot Escapement And Developed Clocks With Perpetual Calendar Mechanisms.

This Elegant Masterpiece Incorporates Brocot’S Revolutionary Namesake Suspension, Accounting For Its Precise Time Regulation. The Clock’S Accuracy And Eight-Day Time And Strike Movement Result From Adjusting The Pendulum Suspension Spring’S Length Via A Key Turned In The Dial. Beautiful And Refined, This Conical Pendulum Mystery Clock Represents The Pinnacle Of Horological Engineering And French Artistry.

Stamped “Ab” Within A Star

19Th Century

36 1/4″ High By 17″ Wide By 11 1/4″ Deep

Provenance:
Jim Cipra, Horological Consultant, Long Beach, California
The Collection Of Dr. William Thomas, Naples, Florida
M.S. Rau, New Orleans