Pocket watch

France, Rouen, 1600
Master F. Legrand
Silver, metal, glass;
niello, carving, gilding

Since the 15th century, masters began
creating pocket sundials and compasses.
The Moscow Kremlin Museums preserves
a rare example by the Rouen watchmaker
F. Legrand, which combines a mechanical
watch with a sundial, and compass placed under a glass.

The Sundial is the oldest type of timepiece, known as far back as ancient Egypt.
Gnomonics - the art of making sundials - developed rapidly in Europe in the 16th
and 17th centuries, and specific treatises
were dedicated to it.

The timepiece is adorned with portraits of the French King Francis I on the upper lid and his wife Eleanor on the lower one.

The maker’s mark in French is ornamented with a refined
element in the form of a flower
on a thin, soft stem – echoed by
floral motifs on a filigree key plate.
The decoration also includes a landscape in the centre of the
dial - a hand circles it, symbolising
the image of the earthly world prevalent at the time - a sphere
with an image of land, water,
plants and sometimes miniature architectural structures inside.

A gilt ring with Roman numerals
is surrounded by a niello decoration with silver figures of angels,
a cherub, birds, and flower ornament. These details were given a symbolic meaning: a repeated motif of pairs (embracing angels, birds), while
flowers would represent prosperity
or the wishing for it.

The decorative solution of the
pocket watch is an example
of the craftsmanship of the creator
in the combination of gilt and
white silver, as well as the niello technique. The portraits of the royal couple are of a high artistic level.
The niello background of the
clock-face is complimented by
luminous figures of angels, a cherub
and flowers.