Five timepieces designed by French cabinetmaker André-Charles Boulle have taken center stage at London’s Wallace Collection as part of a free display celebrating the artistry of clockmaking and the science of timekeeping.

For the first time, the Wallace Collection has brought together its collection of rare and valuable clocks by Boulle, who the museum described as “one of history’s greatest designers and cabinetmakers.”

Boulle was born in Paris in 1642 and is perhaps the world’s most well-known Baroque furniture and timepiece designer, gaining an international reputation for his mastery of inlay technique. He became the leading cabinetmaker in the court of the Sun King Louis XIV, France’s longest-ever reigning monarch.

This favor with the King and his position in court meant that Boulle had the freedom to experiment with his designs, exempt from guild regulations and restrictions. Boulle’s reputation grew to the extent that his name became synonymous with an ornate marquetry style.

Attributed to André-Charles Boulle, movement by Claude Martinot (ca. 1726). Photo ©the Trustees of the Wallace Collection.

Many artists and craftspeople would have been involved in the creation of these timepieces in Paris, and each of the five clocks contains a mechanism made by a different clockmaker, some of whom would have been Boulle’s neighbors in the Louvre workshops where he created his designs.

The accuracy of timekeeping had been revolutionized by Dutch mathematician and engineer Christiaan Huygens who invented the pendulum clock in 1656 aged only 27. The need for larger cases to conceal the swinging pendulums created the perfect canvas for Boulle to experiment with his lavish designs on a grand scale.

Attributed to André-Charles Boulle and Gilles-Marie Oppenord, movement by Jacques-Augustin Thuret (ca. 1712–20). Photo ©the Trustees of the Wallace Collection.

Not only were Boulle’s clocks designed to demonstrate the wealth of those who had commissioned them—from aristocracy to the royal family in Versailles—but also as proof of these patrons’ cultural and intellectual standings. Thus, Boulle incorporated motifs from antiquity and myth—like the bearded figure of Father Time.

There are also references to contemporary scientific discoveries, and self-referential images like Gothic hourglasses, which were prevalent in Europe since the Middle Ages.

Attributed to André-Charles Boulle, movement by Pierre Gaudron (1715). Photo ©the Trustees of the Wallace Collection.

The curator of the display, Alexander Collins, curatorial assistant at the Wallace Collection, described how “the passage of time as a metaphor for life and death has been an important theme for artists since humanity discovered their creativity, and Boulle’s designs are important, and resonate with us today, because of this deep symbolism.”

The theme of the display also translates over into the nearby Billiard Room (once the Billiard Room of the Marquesses of Hertford who lived in the London townhouse during the 19th century) and features Nicolas Poussin’s The Dance to the Music of Time (ca. 1634–36) and Henri Perlan and François Anguier’s The Borghese Dancers (cast in bronze in 1642 by Perlan after a design by Anguier).

Attributed to André-Charles Boulle, movement by Jean Jolly (ca. 1715). Photo ©the Trustees of the Wallace Collection.

In The Dance to the Music of Time, the Four Seasons are seen dancing in a circle to music played by Father Time on a lyre. Poussin mimics the shape of a clock movement with the Seasons’ poses. In The Borghese Dancers, we see the dance of the Horae (the Hours), who were the Greek goddesses of time and the seasons.

The five timepieces have been chosen for their ability to demonstrate the stories of how Boulle took “advantage of scientific discoveries to create unique clock designs in glittering baroque style, the influence of which spread across the world and centuries.”

Attributed to André-Charles Boulle, movement by Louis Mynuël (ca. 1720–25). Photo ©the Trustees of the Wallace Collection.

“These clocks were at the cutting edge of 18th-century technology, combining exquisite artistry and mechanical expertise into a unique and innovative blend,” said director of the Wallace Collection, Xavier Bray. “Through Boulle’s clocks and the display, we hope visitors will be able to transport themselves into the world of Louis XIV, where luxury touched every element of the court, including something as essential and practical as timekeeping.”

Alexander Collins, Curator of Decorative Arts, told Artnet News: “These Boulle clocks bear testament to the extraordinary artistry and scientific innovation of 18th-century Paris. As confections of marquetry and gilt bronze, they epitomise the spectacle of the French Baroque.”

“Keeping Time: Clocks by Boulle” is on display at the Wallace Collection, Hertford House, Manchester Square, London, November 27, 2024–March 2, 2025.