Reloj de sobremesa con guarnición [Mantel clock with garniture]
Rodier
This Louis Quinze gilded bronze ornament set was made in around 1850. The clock case is signed by bronzesmith Alexandre Victor Paillard (1805-1886). The Parisian clock movement is from the factory of Pierre-César H. Pons (1773-1851). The clock face is inscribed with the coat of arms of Vicente de Salazar y Hechevarria, the original owner.
Reloj de sobremesa. Alegoría de la maternidad [Table clock. Allegory of Motherhood]
Antoine Gaulin
In early November 1970, the Works Commission agreed to purchase this French table clock in the Empire style for 70,000 pesetas from the auction house of Policarpo Zabala and Pilar Illarri. It was made by clockmaker Antoine Gaulin (documented between 1788 and 1811), whose name appears on the clock face.
Reloj de sobremesa con guarnición. Las cuatro estaciones del año [Mantel Ornament Set: Table Clock and Two Candelabras. The Four Seasons of the Year]
Anonymous
This porcelain and bronze ornamental piece depicting the four seasons was purchased for 250,000 pesetas on 15 January 1975 to decorate one of the halls or offices in the Banco de España. The candelabras are stamped with the hallmark of the Sitzendorf factory (Thuringia, Germany) and the style is reminiscent of pieces from the end of the 19th century
Reloj de sobremesa con guarnición [Mantel Ornament Set: Table Clock and Two Vases]
Anonymous
The case of this table clock depicts the figure of Moses holding the Tablets of the Law, a copy of Michelangelo’s sculpture for the tomb of Pope Julius II in Rome. The base of the figure of Moses is signed by bronzesmith Ferdinand Barbedienne and hallmarked. Barbedienne obtained a patent to manufacture sculptures to scale.
Reloj de caja alta [Longcase Clock]
Diego Evans
The clock face is inscribed with the name of English clockmaker Diego Evans (documented between 1770 and 1825) who worked for many Spanish clients. The Chippendale-style case mirrors the Orientalist paintings that were so popular throughout Europe in the 18th century. This item is listed in an inventory of the furniture and fixtures of the Banco de San Carlos in 1827.
Reloj de sobremesa. Alegoría del verano y del otoño [Table Clock. Allegory of Summer and Autumn]
Anonymous
The gilded bronze case of this table clock features the figure of two children, sculpted in the round, depicting the allegory of summer and autumn. The French Paris-type clock movement bears the hallmark of the factory founded in 1806 by Fréderic Japy, who was awarded two medals of honour at the Universal Exhibitions of 1855 and 1876.
Reloj de sobremesa con guarnición [Ornament Set: Table or mantel clock and pair of vases]
Anonymous
This set comprises a clock and two vases, made out of green marble and gilded bronze. According to a receipt held in the Curatorship Archive, it was purchased in July 1971 from Señor de la Torre for 475,000 pesetas. The clock case is a portico model. The set is decorated with motifs recalling designs inspired by classical architecture.
Regulador de pared [Regulator Wall Clock]
Asmus Johannsen
This is a regulator wall clock of great technical quality. The face bears the name of Danish clockmaker Asmus Johannsen, documented in London in around 1859. In the 19th century, accurate timekeeping was essential. To compensate for slight changes in the length of the pendulum with changes in the temperature, pendulums were manufactured that contained mercury, as in this example.
Reloj de sobremesa con guarnición [Ornament: Table Clock and Two Candelabras]
Peña y Sobrino
This set was listed in the Governor’s Reception Room in 1974. The clock was made by Peña y Sobrino clockmakers who worked for the Royal Family. The face has a perpetual calendar, with weeks, months, phases of the moon and a Brocot-style escapement. A similar clock by Hoffmeyer y Jiménez is in the Patrimonio Nacional [National Heritage] timepiece collection.
Reloj de sobremesa bracket [Bracket Mantel Clock]
Thomas Windmills
This English bracket-style table clock was purchased in 1783 as part of the decoration of the Banco Nacional de San Carlos’s building in Calle de la Luna. It is the work of Thomas Windmills, the famous English clockmaker who was one of the first to use faces with an upper arc for subdials, which allowed for greater technical accuracy.
Reloj de sobremesa. El nacimiento de un príncipe francés [Mantel Clock. The Birth of a French Prince]
Anonymous
In 1969, when the bank was undergoing extension work, Julio Bragado, an antiques dealer with a shop on Calle de Velázquez in Madrid, offered this clock to the Governor of the Banco de España for 300,000 pesetas. He described it as a fire-gilded bronze clock depicting the birth of a prince. The case bears the coat of arms of the French Séguier-Kerret family.
Reloj de sobremesa [Mantel Clock]
James Moore French
In an inventory of furniture and other items in the offices of the Banco Español de San Fernando at 15, Calle de Atocha, drawn up on 1 January 1851, this English table clock is listed as being in the Governor’s office. It was manufactured by J. French (in business between 1808 and 1842). His brand became popular throughout Europe and particularly in Spain.
Reloj de pared «cartel» [Cartel Clock]
Anonymous
Wall clocks like this one, which sits on a bracket, were very popular in the 18th century, enjoying great success at the court of King Louis XIV. The most elaborate cases were made of wood, tortoiseshell and bronze by the cabinetmaker André Charles Boulle. The style was revived in the mid-19th century by nostalgists.
Reloj de sobremesa [Mantel clock]
José de Hoffmeyer y Jiménez
Table clock by José de Hoffmeyerm. This is one of the best examples of Spanish clockmaking to include a perpetual calendar, imitating those made by the Brocot family in the mid-19th century. The case is in black marble and in addition to an escapement, the movement includes the months of the year, weeks, calendar and phases of the moon, a barometer and two thermometers.
Reloj de sobremesa con guarnición [Mantel Ornament Set: Table Clock and Two Candelabras]
Anonymous
This set in the Second Empire Style was purchased on 18 May 1976 from the antique dealer Antonio Alonso Ojeda on Calle de Ribera de Curtidores in Madrid for 900,000 pesetas. It is made out of gilded bronze and Imari porcelain (from Arita, Japan). These designs, nearly always in the form of a vase, were widely copied throughout Europe.
Reloj de sobremesa. Alegoría del Estudio y de las Artes [Table Clock. Allegory of Study and the Arts]
Anonymous
This table clock, which depicts an allegory of reading and science, was purchased in March 1970 for the Governor’s office for 150,000 pesetas. It is made out of gilded and patinated bronze and green marble. The model is known as "L’emploi du Temps or Pendule à la Geoffrin" and the figures are based on a design by the sculptor Dominique Daguerre.
Reloj de sobremesa [Table clock]
Jaeger-LeCoultre
Table clock manufactured by the Swiss firm Jaeger LeCoultre and sold under the ATMOS brand. Notable, it did not need to be wound. Instead, the mechanism was driven by changes in temperature and atmospheric pressure and powered by a hermetically sealed capsule with a mixture of gas and liquid chloroethylene.
Reloj de sobremesa. San Juan Evangelista [Table Clock. Saint John the Evangelist]
Anonymous
This table clock depicts the figure of Saint John the Evangelist in patinated bronze seated on a footstool alongside an eagle, the apostle’s symbol. The clock was bought from María Pilar Ylarri, who had an antique shop on Calle de Ribera de Curtidores, in June 1974. The clock was made by Barbot Établissements in Paris.
Reloj monumental [Monumental clock]
Anonymous
In May 1934, architect José Yarnoz Larrosa recommended to the Bank’s Governor that an Art Deco centrepiece be installed in the new hall. It should include several clocks visible from as many places as possible. The structure would also indirectly help to light the hall and would house the air extraction systems.
Reloj de torre y campanas [Turret clock]
David Glasgow
In 1889, the Bank of Spain decided to purchase a clock for the tower of its new building on Calle Alcalá. A competition was held, which was won by English clockmaker David Glasgow. He designed an eight-day clock with steel and bronze movements and a bimetallic compensation pendulum that swung every two seconds. It was installed in 1891 and the upkeep was entrusted to the clockmaker Ramón Garín.