abstract:Mantel clocks — or shelf clocks — are relatively small house clocks traditionally placed on the shelf, or mantel, above the fireplace. The form, first developed in France in the 1750s, can be distinguished from earlier chamber clocks of similar size due to a lack of carrying handles.
The marbleclock on the mantel-piecesoftly chimed the half-hour, the dog roseuneasily from the hearthrug and looked at the party at the breakfast table.
Highlights include a 19th-century mantelclock that shows a magician who moves a cup to reveal various hidden objects and a Victorian brass skeleton clock built to look like Westminster Abbey.