Calendar watch
ca. 1795
Medium
Gold, silver-gilt, enamel
Dimensions
Diameter: 2 in. (5.1 cm)
Classification
Horology
Culture
French, Rouen
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Laura Frances Hearn, 1917
Accession Number
17.101.21
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite *Calendar watch* by the Rouen watchmaker Blainville dating to around 1795, exemplifies the pinnacle of French horology during the late 18th century. Craft from gold with silver-gilt elements and delicately painted enamel, the compact 2-inch-diameter timepiece served not just to tell time but to display the full calendar—day, date, and month—through intricate mechanical complications. Such watches were marvels of engineering, blending precision craftsmanship with opulent decoration, and were prized possessions of the French elite amid the post-Revolutionary Directory period. The...