Blogger: Praslin :: Create Post
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Anecdote on Duc de Praslin and his timepiece in the Bastille. Not sure which Duc this refers to.
"Abraham-Louis Breguet was a phenomenon without parallel. He was the genius of his age, perhaps the most outstanding horologist of his time." So said Edey in his 1982 catalogue in describing what may be an utterly unique timepiece, a two-sided desk watch made for the Duc de Choiseul-Praslin. This fascinating object displays simultaneously two systems of timekeeping, showing the traditional hour system on one side and the decimal-hour system instituted by the Revolutionary government on the other. Choiseul-Praslin seems to have communicated from imprisonment in the Bastille with Breguet about the making of a two-sided watch. It may be speculated that he — who survived the Revolution and emerged as Citoyen Praslin — could have maintained a degree of personal security later by displaying such a watch conspicuously on his desk, revealing whichever face and system of time-telling appealed to visitors. A work of great beauty, this Deux Styles timepiece survives, and will be on view in the exhibition at the Frick. The decimal-hour system, however, did not survive more than a decade. Guest curator William J. H. Andrewes points out that "the traditional method of reckoning time had become such an accepted standard in Western civilization that-despite the successful adoption of the decimal system for measuring distance, volume, and weight-the division of days into hours, minutes, and seconds could not be changed."
Anecdote on Duc de Praslin and his timepiece in the Bastille. Not sure which Duc this refers to.
"Abraham-Louis Breguet was a phenomenon without parallel. He was the genius of his age, perhaps the most outstanding horologist of his time." So said Edey in his 1982 catalogue in describing what may be an utterly unique timepiece, a two-sided desk watch made for the Duc de Choiseul-Praslin. This fascinating object displays simultaneously two systems of timekeeping, showing the traditional hour system on one side and the decimal-hour system instituted by the Revolutionary government on the other. Choiseul-Praslin seems to have communicated from imprisonment in the Bastille with Breguet about the making of a two-sided watch. It may be speculated that he — who survived the Revolution and emerged as Citoyen Praslin — could have maintained a degree of personal security later by displaying such a watch conspicuously on his desk, revealing whichever face and system of time-telling appealed to visitors. A work of great beauty, this Deux Styles timepiece survives, and will be on view in the exhibition at the Frick. The decimal-hour system, however, did not survive more than a decade. Guest curator William J. H. Andrewes points out that "the traditional method of reckoning time had become such an accepted standard in Western civilization that-despite the successful adoption of the decimal system for measuring distance, volume, and weight-the division of days into hours, minutes, and seconds could not be changed."
posted by Dan at 9:56 AM
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