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, set on a shaped cartouche, the edges cut all round in crisp flutes.
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, and the holder turns a pocket watch into a small bedside timepiece.
Brienz was the centre of Swiss decorative woodcarving from the middle of the nineteenth century, and this piece is cut in pale limewood. 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.
