Rare André Romain Guilmet Hot Air Balloon Clock

A Rare French Guilmet Hot Air Balloon Clock

André Romain Guilmet, Paris
French, circa 1880
Gilt and patinated metal, enamel, and black marble

Height: 23 ¾ in. (60.3 cm)
Width: approximately
Depth: approximately

An exceptional and highly imaginative French hot-air-balloon clock by Guilmet, dating to the last quarter of the nineteenth century and representing one of the most distinctive expressions of the celebrated French industrial and novelty-clock tradition.

The clock is conceived as a magnificent balloon suspended above a black marble architectural base. The highly polished spherical balloon forms the clock itself, its surface encircled by individual white enamel Arabic numeral cartouches and enclosed within a remarkably intricate simulated rope net.

Descending from the balloon, the suspension lines support a finely detailed gondola occupied by a diminutive aeronaut. Chains, an anchor, rigging and other meticulously rendered fittings transform the clock from a conventional timepiece into a miniature mechanical sculpture devoted to the excitement of early flight and exploration.

The balloon is dramatically elevated upon a dark patinated vertical support rising from a substantial stepped black marble base enriched with gilt-metal architectural ornament. The contrast between the polished balloon, gilt details, dark supporting column and marble gives the clock a particularly strong sculptural presence.

The clock belongs to the remarkable group of industrial and mechanical fantasy clocks associated with A. R. Guilmet of Paris, whose designs celebrated the technological achievements and popular imagination of the nineteenth century. Guilmet produced clocks inspired by steam machinery, locomotives, ships, lighthouses and other symbols of transportation and engineering. Among the most evocative of these designs were his balloon clocks, combining horology with the nineteenth-century fascination for aeronautics.

Guilmet's industrial clocks began appearing during the 1870s and reached their greatest expression during the closing decades of the century. Their sophisticated mechanical arrangements and highly inventive cases made them objects intended not merely to tell time, but to entertain, intrigue and demonstrate the accomplishments of contemporary French engineering.

The present example is particularly impressive at nearly two feet in height. Its combination of scale, complex rigging, suspended figural gondola and architectural marble base gives it an unusually theatrical quality. Viewed from a distance, the dark support visually recedes and allows the balloon and basket to appear almost suspended in space.

A striking example of the intersection of horology, sculpture, engineering and the nineteenth-century fascination with flight, and an especially desirable form within Guilmet's celebrated production.

Condition: Presented in very good antique condition. The intricate balloon netting, suspension arrangement, gondola, figure, chains and decorative fittings remain important elements of the clock's character and survival. The clock retains its original movement and principal components.

Clock is in very good running condition.

France, circa 1880.

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