French Art Deco ZENITH Clock 'Monnayer'
Sold Out - contact us and we'll try to find something similar for you.- This is a monumental French Art Deco clock—and by that I mean its size as well as architectural form. The buttresses to the sides could actually be justified to hold the main body firmly in place! There are several interesting aspects to this clock, if at first we just consider its design and beauty. The main form is square, with a square outer clock face frame, and again an inner square sandwiching the Art Deco numerals in between. The hands are rectangular, linear, skyscraper-style. And then, in total contrast, with a glint of light, we realise that the square glass covering the clock face is actually beautifully convex, giving us literally a completely new dimension to what we had seen so far!
- The flared buttresses to the sides are in a darker oak veneer which adds to the sense of size, as they stand in the shadows of the main body, which is in walnut verneer.
- This once-chiming clock is also a calendar (please see our FAQs about our clock policy), and I have never tried either mechanism.
- A really interesting feature to this truly decorative talking point is the coin slot to the top. You'll also see the wax seal to the rear, and a tiny fitting where a wax sealed cord would have been in place.
- This clock is what was known as a 'Monnayer' and was put into houses or chateaux by insurance salesmen. The client would need to put money into the clock everyday to make it work, 1 or 2 francs, and the visiting agent would empty the sealed collection box as he made his collection rounds, gathering premiums. After a year, once there was enough collected to pay for the clock, it became the client's.
- Which reminds me: we do offer a lay away service here at Chateau Antiques...
