English Boulle Mantel Clock, ca. 1880
Watch
GUEST:
This clock is from the furnishings of the Fox Theater in Atlanta, Georgia. And my grandfather, Arthur Lucas, owned theaters all over the South. And the Fox was one of his theaters. Back in the day, when they decorated theaters, they were very elaborate...
APPRAISER:
Right.
GUEST:
...in their furnishings. And then my grandfather died, but my grandmother was still living. And they were remodeling the inside of the theater, and they were just getting rid of the things, and they called her and said, "We really think you might want this clock." And she said, "Yes, I'll take it." And it's just part of our family history.
APPRAISER:
Well, certainly very appropriate for a theater. It's about as elaborate as a clock gets, it really is sort of over the top. This is what we call a Boulle gilded mantel clock.
GUEST:
All right.
APPRAISER:
And Boulle refers to this marquetry inlaid brass all throughout the clock. And it's a gentleman named André-Charles Boulle, who was a French cabinetmaker that in the late 17th century made this Boulle work famous. But this is a copy made circa 1880. This brass inlay could be inlaid in wood, or tortoise shell, all different materials. This is a laminate here that probably was to imitate tortoise shell. It starts at the top with Athena, the goddess of... the warrior. She was the goddess of reason, arts, literature, which is very appropriate for the theater. It has this beautiful brass dial with these raised enameled numerals. And it all sits on these four rearing horses, which is probably my favorite part of the clock. And it's inlaid throughout the whole bottom of the case. A really high quality copy, and a lot of people don't know the difference. But if you look at the movement back here... Got to access the back. It's just a simple brass movement that's spring-driven. Uh-huh. And it strikes on a bell, which is nice. If it were a First Period French clock, generally these movements would be a lot bigger, and they'd almost always be signed, engraved across the back plate, which this one's not. We don't know who made this, it's not signed. But this is not a one-off. There are other copies that are exactly like this. This clock will run for eight days on a wind and it'll strike the hour on the hour, as you probably...
GUEST:
Yes, it does.
APPRAISER:
...probably know well. It's a beautiful sounding clock. English copies like this of these early French clocks sell in a retail situation in the $6,000 to $8,000 price range. If it were a First Period clock, a French clock made in the late 17th century, it would bring in probably the $20,000 to $30,000 range. Let's actually hear it chime.
GUEST:
All right, I love it.
APPRAISER:
It'll strike once on the half-hour.
GUEST:
All right.
(bell dings)
APPRAISER:
Just to let you know that it passed. And then it'll strike the hour on the hour.
(bell dinging)
GUEST:
Reminds me of my grandmother's house.
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