Musical clock

The Stollewerck Carillon Clock is a spring-driven musical mantel clock (pendule à musique), attributed to Jean-Claude Chambellan Duplessis the Elder. The carillon plays a different tune each hour from a total repertoire of 14 tunes and dates to around 1763. Molinier was the first to attribute Stollewerck Carillon Clock to Duplessis, comparing it to the wall-lights attributed to him in the Isaac de Camondo collection, which show a combination of leaves and berries similar to those on the sprays that flank the case of the clock. Its movement is by Pierre Daillé, and the carillon itself is the work of Michel Stollewerck. Stollewerck made elaborate astronomical movements such as that of the clock F98, but also conventional clock movements such as that of the wall clock F255.

In 2010, in order to avoid further wear and tear to the particularly complex and delicate carillon movement, a miniaturized sound system was installed inside the clock, enabling the tunes to be replaced with digital recordings. This innovative system, developed by sound engineer John Leonard and senior furniture conservator, Jurgen Huber, is activated by the clock’s ‘going train’ movement, and plays the original tunes of the musical clock, on the hour, every hour. The clock movement itself remains unaffected by the device but allows the visitors to enjoy the wonderfully evocative and arresting sound of the chimes whilst protecting the delicate mechanical musical movement for posterity.