{"id":8284,"date":"2020-09-05T20:21:46","date_gmt":"2020-09-05T20:21:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/?p=8284"},"modified":"2021-01-15T17:00:27","modified_gmt":"2021-01-15T17:00:27","slug":"can-you-tell-a-swedish-mora-clock-from-a-french-comtoise-clock-or-a-danish-bornholm-clock","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/2020\/09\/can-you-tell-a-swedish-mora-clock-from-a-french-comtoise-clock-or-a-danish-bornholm-clock\/","title":{"rendered":"Can you tell a Swedish Mora Clock from a French Comtoise Clock or a Danish Bornholm Clock?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Years before I found my Mora clock, I bought this clock at a thrift store. It\u2019s not an antique. The label on the bottom says it is from Pier 1 Imports. But, I love the shape. A visitor informed me that it is French Comtoise clock.<\/p>\n

\"Reproduction
Reproduction Mantel Clock<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s not. It\u2019s not a real anything. It\u2019s a battery powered mantel clock. But it got me thinking. What is the difference between a Comtoise clock and a Mora clock?<\/p>\n

Gustavian is a Swedish style that is very close to French Neoclassicism. So perhaps that is another reason these styles are so similar.<\/p>\n

What is the difference between a Comtoise clock and a Mora clock?<\/h2>\n

When I started trying to contrast Comtoise and Mora clocks, I found other long case clocks that look really similar, too. They were all made around the same time and they all have a similar form. They are all eight day clocks.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s play a game. See if you can identify these clocks. Some are French Comtoise Clocks. Some are Danish Bornholm Clocks and some are Swedish Mora Clocks. The answers are below.<\/p>\n

\"Can
Can you identify these clocks?
Can you tell a Swedish Mora Clock from a French Comtoise Clock or a Danish Bornholm Clock?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Can
Can you identify these clocks?
Can you tell a Swedish Mora Clock from a French Comtoise Clock or a Danish Bornholm Clock?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Can
Can you identify these clocks?
Can you tell a Swedish Mora Clock from a French Comtoise Clock or a Danish Bornholm Clock?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Can
Can you identify these clocks?
Can you tell a Swedish Mora Clock from a French Comtoise Clock or a Danish Bornholm Clock?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"French
French Comtoise Clocks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Comtoise Clocks<\/h2>\n

Left to Right: 19th century Comtoise clock
\nPhoto by FrancoisFC<\/p>\n

Comtoise clock in Poligny in the Jura – 1782 – Comtois museum of the citadel of Besan\u00e7on
\nPhoto by Arnaud<\/p>\n

Wall Mounted French comtoise in Holland
\nPhoto by Weefemwe<\/p>\n

Right: Comtoise clock from France.
\nPhoto by Lionel Allorge<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Comtoise Clocks are also called Morbier clocks or Morez clocks. They were made in France, in the Franche-Comt\u00e9 region, near Morbier, from 1680 to 1890 or so.<\/p>\n

These clocks can be long case clocks or be mounted to the wall.<\/p>\n

Comtoise Clocks are 6 to 8 feet tall. They are described as having a curving “potbellied” case and a greater use of curved lines. Greater than what?<\/p>\n

They are also identified by \u201ca heavy, elongated, highly ornamented pendulum bob\u201d that \u201cextends up the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Danish
Danish Bornholm Clocks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Bornholm Clocks<\/h2>\n

Left: Bornholm clock (a longcase clock type originally made on Bornholm, Denmark). This case is rebuilt sometime in the 20th century
\nPhoto by Loproc<\/p>\n

Both in the Center: Longcase clocks from 1760 and 1745 at Kulturhistorisk Museum, a part of Bornholms Museum in R\u00f8nne in Denmark. In Danish a longcase clock is known as a bornholmerur.
\nPhoto by Leif J\u00f8rgensen<\/p>\n

Right: Bornholm clock made by Edvart Sonne in R\u00f8nne, Bornholm in the late 1700s. The colour is not original, repainted around 1990.
\nPhoto by Mogens Engelund<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Bornholm or Bornholmer Clocks are from the Danish island of Bornholm. They were made from 1745 to 1900 or so. They are described as having a \u201cdelicate crown and if the head is squarish styled, a little window in each side so you can see the works moving.\u201d (www.country-gallery.com\/clockhistory.html<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Bornholm Clocks can be Baroque or Empire style.<\/p>\n

\"Swedish
Swedish Mora Clocks<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Mora Clocks<\/h2>\n

Left to Right: G N Frykman\u2019s Mora Clock
\nPhoto by G N Frykman<\/p>\n

Clock in the Hallwyl Museum
\nPhoto by Jenny Bergensten<\/p>\n

1834 Mora clock
\nPhoto by G N Frykman<\/p>\n

\u00d6lsbo Clock in Mj\u00f6b\u00e4cks Church, V\u00e4sterg\u00f6tland, Sweden
\nPhoto by G\u00f6sta Imberg<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mora Clocks are Swedish. They were made from the late 1700s through the 1800s. The clock movements were made in the Mora area of Sweden.<\/p>\n

To strike the hour, there is either a gong on a spiral wire or two bells above the clock mechanism. The original weights are cast iron.<\/p>\n

There is a lot more information on the internet, but I\u2019m not going to repeat it here. Even experts debate what clock it is unless they can see the mechanism.<\/p>\n

\"Clocks
Clocks from paintings of Carl Larsson’s home<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Carl Larsson’s Clocks<\/h2>\n

The Swedish painter Carl Larsson painted many views of his home. At least three of\u00a0 these had clocks. The one on the left is from Evening Interior. The one in the center, I think, from Be Happy, looks like the same clock, but the one on the right, from Brita in the Drawing Room is a different clock. Neither look like a Swedish Mora clock. They look to me more like Danish Bornholm clocks.<\/p>\n

As you look through paintings of his home, you see the same furnishings, but moved to different locations.<\/p>\n

\"The
The clock in Carl Larsson’s Drawing Room<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Carl Larsson and his family lived in this house in Sundborn, Sweden. The house is open to the public.<\/p>\n

\"The
The clock in Carl Larsson’s Drawing Room<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The photos of the rooms show all the things from his paintings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Years before I found my Mora clock, I bought this clock at a thrift store. It\u2019s not an antique. The label on the bottom says it is from Pier 1 Imports. But, I love the shape. A visitor informed me that it is French Comtoise …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8280,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/featured-clocks.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3733,"url":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/2017\/07\/more-mora-clocks\/","url_meta":{"origin":8284,"position":0},"title":"More Mora Clocks","author":"Carla","date":"July 24, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Mora clocks are longcase clocks with a pendulum and weights. They date from the late 1700s through the 1800s. The clock movements were made in the Mora area of Sweden. They are eight-day clock movements. That means they only have to be wound once a week. Mora clocks have two\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Research"","block_context":{"text":"Research","link":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/category\/research\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"More Mora Clocks - Project Small House","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/featured_image-clocks.jpg?fit=1034%2C535&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/featured_image-clocks.jpg?fit=1034%2C535&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/featured_image-clocks.jpg?fit=1034%2C535&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/featured_image-clocks.jpg?fit=1034%2C535&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1269,"url":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/2017\/11\/finding-my-mora-clock\/","url_meta":{"origin":8284,"position":1},"title":"Finding My Mora Clock","author":"Carla","date":"November 24, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Do you want a Swedish Grandfather clock? Don't think Ikea. Mora clocks are very different. Not at all Modern. Swedish clocks are just beautiful. They complement any style, from the formal Gustavian traditional in Wallander's daughter's husband's family home to Louisa Glasson's cheerful cottage on Doc Martin. I just received\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Log Cabins"","block_context":{"text":"Log Cabins","link":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/category\/log-cabin\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mora Clock - Swedish Grandfather Clock","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/featured_mora_clock.jpg?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/featured_mora_clock.jpg?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/featured_mora_clock.jpg?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/featured_mora_clock.jpg?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/featured_mora_clock.jpg?fit=1200%2C632&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":6879,"url":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/2019\/12\/kakelugn-swedish-tiled-stoves\/","url_meta":{"origin":8284,"position":2},"title":"Kakelugn – Swedish Tiled Stoves","author":"Carla","date":"December 13, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"We still haven\u2019t put the fireplaces into the new house. I looked to see whether it would be possible to have a kakelugn. \u00a0Can I get a Swedish tiled stove here in the United States? How much do Kakelugn cost? I found prices on three. One is $7,400, the one\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Inspiration"","block_context":{"text":"Inspiration","link":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/category\/inspiration\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Kakelugn Swedish Tiled Stoves","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/featured-Kakelugn.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/featured-Kakelugn.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/featured-Kakelugn.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/featured-Kakelugn.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7785,"url":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/2020\/08\/finding-a-gas-fireplace-for-our-mantel\/","url_meta":{"origin":8284,"position":3},"title":"Finding a Gas Fireplace for Our Mantel","author":"Carla","date":"August 3, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"We found an antique wood mantel on Facebook Marketplace while we were building our house. (It is mantel, el. A mantle is clothes. Spellcheck doesn't catch this one.) We knew we wanted a gas fireplace to go with it, but which one? There were so many other decisions to make\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Our New House"","block_context":{"text":"Our New House","link":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/category\/new-house\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/featured-fireplace.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/featured-fireplace.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/featured-fireplace.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/featured-fireplace.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5892,"url":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/2019\/02\/swedish-kachelofen-beautiful-ceramic-stoves\/","url_meta":{"origin":8284,"position":4},"title":"Swedish Kachelofen, Beautiful Ceramic Stoves","author":"Carla","date":"February 2, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Carl Larsson, the Swedish painter and decorator included these beautiful ceramic stoves in many of the paintings of his home. The book Living in the Countryside by Barbara & Ren\u00e9 Stoeltie shows photos of the home of Karin and Carl Larsson. It has a photo of the same stove. This\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Inspiration"","block_context":{"text":"Inspiration","link":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/category\/inspiration\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Swedish Kachelofen \u2013 Project Small House","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/featured_image-Kakelugn.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/featured_image-Kakelugn.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/featured_image-Kakelugn.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/featured_image-Kakelugn.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":8475,"url":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/2020\/10\/adding-a-heat-shield-to-the-antique-mantel\/","url_meta":{"origin":8284,"position":5},"title":"Adding a Heat Shield to the Antique Mantel","author":"Carla","date":"October 5, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"We added a mantel shield to our antique mantel so that we won\u2019t burn the house down. It had been suggested that if you have a blower, it won\u2019t get hot enough to catch fire. That is so not true. We tried the fire for just a few minutes and,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Our New House"","block_context":{"text":"Our New House","link":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/category\/new-house\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Adding a Heat Shield to the Antique Mantel","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/featured_image-heat_shield.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/featured_image-heat_shield.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/featured_image-heat_shield.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/featured_image-heat_shield.jpg?fit=810%2C431&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8284","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8284"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8284\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8918,"href":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8284\/revisions\/8918"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8280"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8284"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8284"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.projectsmallhouse.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8284"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}