Editing Mantel clock (section)

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[[File:Clock Julien Beliard.jpg|thumb|French ormolu mantel clock (around 1800) by Julien Béliard (born 1758 – died after 1806), [[Paris]]. The clock case by Claude Galle (1758–1815).]]
[[File:Unknown - Zegar kominkowy - MNK IV-Zeg-158 (13080).jpg|thumb|Mantel clock from Austria (around 1840), [[National Museum in Kraków]].]]
[[File:Seth Thomas tambour mantel clock ca. 1930.jpg|thumb|A Seth Thomas American tambour-style mantel clock, dating to around 1930.]]
[[File:Art_Deco_Shelf_Clock_Amboina_Wood.jpg|thumb|Art Deco Mantel Clock from Amboina Wood around 1930]]

'''Mantel clocks'''—or '''shelf clocks'''—are relatively small house [[clock]]s traditionally placed on the shelf, or [[fireplace mantel|mantel]], above the [[fireplace]]. The form, first developed in [[France]] in the 1750s, can be distinguished from earlier chamber clocks of similar size due to a lack of carrying handles.

These clocks are often highly ornate, decorative works. They are most frequently constructed from any combination of [[ormolu]], [[porcelain]], and [[wood]]. One of the most common and valued types of mantel clocks are the [[French Empire mantel clock|French Empire-style timepieces]].

Simon Willard's shelf clock (half clock, Massachusetts shelf clock) was a relatively economical clock which was produced by the celebrated [[Simon Willard]]'s [[Roxbury Street]] workshop, in [[Boston]], [[Massachusetts]], around the first decades of the 19th century. Right after inventing the [[banjo clock]], Simon Willard brought the design further, designing the similar Massachusetts shelf clock which was related to the traditional [[bracket clock]]s. Simon's new creation ran for eight days.