Wall Clock
L’Escalier de Cristal
c. 1880
Medium
Bronze, gilt bronze, and cloisonné enamel
Dimensions
94 × 40.6 × 22.9 cm (37 × 16 × 9 in.)
Classification
bronze
Department
Applied Arts of Europe
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
194394
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This bronze and enamel clock originally came to New York in about 1880 shortly after it had been made in Paris by the firm L’Escalier de Cristal (The Crystal Staircase). It had been acquired for the richest man in America, the railroad magnate William H. Vanderbilt, whose wealth was then estimated at $200 million (about $40 billion in today’s money), and whose lavish mansion was then under construction at 640 Fifth Avenue. Most of the furnishings for the Vanderbilt home were made by Herter Broth...