French Ceramic Clock No. 01 by Jacques Poussine, 1970s
A 1970s ceramic wall clock by Jacques Poussine, produced at the Sant-Vicens workshop in Perpignan, France.
The piece is formed in terracotta as a vertical panel in relief, structured around two circular elements. The upper roundel is decorated with a stylized botanical motif—leaf and seed forms rendered in warm ochres, browns, and cream—signed Poussine at the upper left.
Below, the clock face is set into a recessed circular field, surrounded by a dense border of impressed geometric motifs. The dial is built from concentric rings of glaze in blue, rust, yellow, and violet tones, arranged in a pattern that reads almost like a mosaic. Each section holds slight variation in color and saturation, giving the surface movement.
Across the panel, the clay has been worked by hand—pressed, stamped, and carved rather than smoothed. Repeating marks—dots, crosses, and radiating forms—run continuously from edge to edge. A turquoise-toned border frames the outer edge, contrasting with the warmer ochre ground.
The glaze sits unevenly by design, pooling into recesses and thinning along raised areas, creating shifts between matte and gloss.
The reverse retains the original terracotta body with a later battery movement fitted into the central recess.
Jacques Poussine worked closely with the Sant-Vicens atelier beginning in the late 1940s, where artists explored clay as a surface for image and structure rather than purely functional form. The clock remains functional, but the focus is on the surface—reading more like a ceramic wall piece than a conventional timepiece.
DIMENSIONS: 7.5"W x 2.5"D x 19"H
ORIGIN: France
PERIOD: 1970s
MATERIALS: Ceramic, Terracotta
CONDITION:
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