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Imperial Guardian Lion

Cooper Hewitt

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    Object Details

    Producer

    Maurice Coüet, French, 1885-1963
    Cartier, French, founded 1847

    Description

    A clock designed as a carved nephrite Chinese Imperial guardian lion and a young lion, the carved lion embellished with black enamel and gold mane and red enamel toenails, with eyes of cabochon emeralds for the large lion and cabochon rubies for the young lion, supporting a circular clock with carved citrine face, rose-cut diamond-set hands in the shape of a dragon and black enameled chapter ring with rose-cut diamond Arabic numerals stylized as Chinese calligraphy, the red enamel border studded with pearls, all atop a carved coral ball resting on a pearl-fringed saddle blanket atop the guardian lion, beside a carved coral branch with carved stone leaves and pearls, supported by a base of black-enameled gold accented with calibre-cut corals; mounted in platinum and gold; with original green leather Cartier case.

    Credit Line

    Lent by Private Collection

    Date

    1929

    Accession Number

    13.2016.96

    Restrictions & Rights

    Usage conditions apply

    Type

    timepieces & measuring devices
    Exhibitions

    Object Name

    Mystery Clock

    Type

    Mystery Clock

    Medium

    Carved nephrite, enamel, gold, cabochon emeralds, cabochon rubies, carved citrine, rose-cut diamonds, carved and calibré-cut coral, pearls, carved stone, platinum

    Dimensions

    H x W x D: 17 × 9.3 × 16.2 cm (6 11/16 × 3 11/16 × 6 3/8 in.)

    made in

    Paris, France

    See more items in

    Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum Collection
    Exhibitions Department

    Data Source

    Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

    Metadata Usage

    Not determined

    Link to Original Record

    http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/kq48c4a99bf-1698-41df-9052-cfc4ecef5d8f

    Record ID

    chndm_13.2016.96

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