A ‘Black Forest’ linden wood long case clock by Spring of Interlaken

A ‘Black Forest’ linden wood long case clock by Spring of Interlaken, the square silvered dial enclosed behind a glazed door within an ornate case, surmounted by a carving of William Tell and his son after the “Tell Monument” by Richard Kissling (1848-1919) and with the “Lion of Lucerne”, the motto “Helvetiorum Fidei Ac Virtuti (to the loyalty and bravery of the Swiss)” and the Swiss flag carved below. Movement signed Schlenker & Kienzle, the pediment signed H. Spring Interlaken 1923.  With a postcard reading Kunstmobelfabrik un ausstellung Interlaken. Swiss, probably Brienz, circa 1923.

Footnote: For many years carved wooden pieces such as this clock were wrongly thought to have come from the Black Forest in Germany. However, we now know that a wide variety of carvings were actually produced in the Swiss Alps as extensively researched by Arenski, Daniels and Daniels, in their publication ‘Swiss Carvings, The Art of the ‘Black Forest’ 1820-1940’ Woodbridge 2005; p98, pl 146-147 (for related clocks see p 53 pl 256).

Founded in 1883, the firm of Hieronymous Spring and company were makers of the finest carved furniture and works of art, sold from a charming hilltop location in Interlaken. A newspaper report in Der Bund, Volume 86, Number 428, 14 September 1935 records the firm’s participation in the Cantonal Lanöwirtfthasts- Horticultural, Industrial and Commercial Exhibition in Zollikofen. The newspaper states that ‘Many are again openly committed to antique design, such as H. Spring Interlaken with his charming salon in which he shows a wide variety of period furniture’. Although pieces such as this clock were designed for tourists, the sheer scale and complexity of a piece like this meant that it was only available to the wealthiest and most discerning of travellers.

The death of Richard Kissling, sculptor of the William Tell monument, in 1919 may perhaps have acted as the impetus for these pieces to be produced as the surviving examples all date from the early 1920s.  Perhaps these marvellous clocks were conceived partially as tributes to the sculptor whose work had brought so many tourists to visit the area.

The ‘Lion of Lucerne’ was created by Bertel Thorvaldsen (1170-1844) as the memorial for the members of the Swiss Guard who were killed defending the royal family during the French revolution in 1792.