Carved Swiss Watch Holder, Edelweiss in Relief, c.1890-1910
A Swiss carved pocket-watch holder in pale limewood, made in Brienz in the Bernese Oberland around 1890 to 1910. The front carries an edelweiss in high relief, the flower most closely tied to the Alpine carving workshops, set on a shaped cartouche inside crisp chip-carved borders.
It works as a stand for a pocket watch. The top panel folds down on a turned wooden hinge, and a watch sits face-up in the round velvet-lined well so the dial shows like a small wall clock. The back is finished flat with a square hanging hole and a keyhole slot, so it mounts on the wall and turns a pocket watch into a bedside or hall timepiece.
Brienz was the centre of Swiss decorative woodcarving from the middle of the nineteenth century, and pieces like this were cut in limewood rather than the darker walnut of the German workshops. The edelweiss here is worked directly in the solid, stems and petals standing proud of the ground.
It is complete and sound, on its original finish, with the wooden hinge still working. There is light rubbing to the finish on the front beside the edelweiss, some old glue residue and darkening to the back, and the velvet in the well is worn. No box or papers.
