WHAT?  Keeping Time: Clocks by Boulle 

WHERE?  The Wallace Collection, Housekeeper’s Room, Hertford House, Manchester Square, London W1U 3BN. Free to view.

WHEN?  Now until 2nd March. 

WHY GO? For the art of keeping time. There’s no time like the present, the start of a New Year to marvel at the glorious splendour of artistic craftsmanship on display in the renowned Wallace Collection.

Andre-Charles Boulle (1642-1732) and his clocks are the subject of a timely exhibition that illustrates the best of the best in decorative art in the stately former home of Sir Richard and Lady Wallace which atmospherically evokes their charmed cultural lives.

More is definitely more when it comes to clocks by Boulle who was the most famous cabinetmaker for the Court Louis XIV and the Sun King never stinted on gold - lots of it! 

His name will forever be synonymous with magnificent Baroque artistry.

Though primarily a cabinetmaker, Boulle was able to collaborate with the finest craftsmen of his era, including the world's leading clockmakers and their resulting time pieces are legendary.

Five of his most exceptional clocks with mechanisms by different specialists are displayed together to showcase the unique talent and influence of Boulle who led the way with scientific clock design for centuries ahead.

Time will tell whether anyone in the future can match their brilliance!

IN THE KNOW Influenced by Boulle’s concept of ‘time’, artworks by his contemporaries are explored in a small separate display in the Museum’s Billiard Room. Don’t miss A Dance to the Music of Time, an iconic masterpiece by French Baroque artist Nicolas Poussin which represents four dancers as the Four Seasons.