Conical pendulum clock by Henri-Eugène-Adrien Farcot
This splendid and large conical clock is an original piece made by the Forgot atelier in Paris. Henri-Eugène-Adrien Farcot was a French clock-maker, industrialist, inventor, mechanical-engineer, aeronaut, occasional writer. He was the most celebrated conical pendulum clockmaker of his time. In 1853 he established the Manufacture d’Horlogerie E. Farcot with headquarters, from 1855 (previously in rue Vieille-du-Temple, 75, Paris), in rue des Trois-Bornes, 39, Paris, wherein he worked until his retirement in the late 1880s.
Urania Bronze statue signed Paul Emile Machault
The large bronze statue, chiselled and gilded, is of splendid quality bears the signature of the artist Paul Emile Machault (1800 – 1866) on the base. The level of the chiselling is very high as is possible to see from the images; the statue is composed of two parts. Generally, on other later conical clocks the figures were made of antimony metal. In contrast, the Farcot Clocks are always characterized by high quality.
Clock movement
The clock mechanism works perfectly. Twin barrels with rack strike on the bell, the last pinion in the going train extended through the top of the case to engage with the pendulum; winding key. The movement is marked with a star over an anchor and shield symbol of Farcot production, numbered 11778.
International Exhibitions and awards
The great International Exhibitions of the 19th attracted millions of visitors; allowed craftsperson from every discipline to showcase their absolute best to a global audience that included royalty and the social elite. The London Exhibition of 1862 brought together over 28,000 exhibitors from 36 countries and over 6 million visitors. During this event, Eugène Farcot introduced his conical pendulum clock to the world, obtaining great success for its realization.
Throughout his career, Eugène Farcot got four medals in the following expositions: Besançon 1860 (bronze), London 1862 (honourable mention), Paris (1863 bronze, 1867 bronze & 1878 silver), as well as Henri Vandenberg, both with a silver medal in Paris 1889 and a gold medal in Paris 1900.
