Property from the Gunter Sachs Collection
Cartier, Paris
The Shinto Shrine Gate Mystery Clock No. 6 | Completed on 15 June 1925 | A magnificent and important rock crystal, gold, onyx, black enamel, diamond, agate and coral 8-Day Portico Mystery Clock surmounted by a Buddhist Lion
Auction Closed
November 9, 12:39 PM GMT
Estimate
3,000,000 - 5,000,000 CHF
Lot Details
Description
8-day duration movement concealed within the entablature beneath the rock crystal buddhist lion
bevelled rock crystal ‘dial’, diamond-set hands, the hour hand in the form of a stylised palmette
12-sided gold and black enamel chapter, appliquéd platinum and diamond-set Roman numerals
interspersed by black enamel panels framed by gold edges and with repeated stylised ogee arch
motif, the back with similar repeated ogee motif and stylised rosettes
the portico formed of two rock crystal columns with black enamel and gold-banded bases and capitals,
rising from onyx and stepped rock crystal plinths, all set upon a stepped gold base, the back with
engraved cursive signature of Cartier Paris, the columns supporting an onyx, gold and agate entablature
centrally surmounted by a Buddhist lion on a stepped black enamel broad square plinth flanked by two
coral cabochons, the lion’s plinth friction fitted to the entablature and removing to reveal the frosted gilded
movement cuvette with apertures for winding and hand setting, the clock suspended from the entablature
via a gold framework supported by a gold hoop affixed to a rock crystal beam, heightened by a small
square coral plaque with raised pyramidal top
accompanied by a later fitted presentation case
Dimensions
35 x 24 x 13 cm. 13¾ x 9½ x 5 in
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Sale: Sotheby Parke Bernet Inc., New York, 30 January 1969, lot 10.
H. Robert Greene, New York.
Sale: Christie's, The H. Robert Greene Collection of Art Deco, Geneva, 16 November 1978, lot 533.
Gunter Sachs Collection
Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, Geneva, April 1991.
Chaille, François & Cologni, Franco, The Cartier Collection: Timepieces, Paris: Flammarion, 2006, p. 214.
McClinton, Katherine Morrison, Art Deco, New York: Clarkson Potter, 1972, p. 90
Nadelhoffer, Hans, Cartier, Jewelers Extraordinary, London: Thames & Hudson, 1984, pp. 252-253.
Rudoe, Judy, Cartier, 1900-1939, London: British Museum Press, 1997, p. 206.
Cartier’s Mystery Clocks stand as masterpieces of early 20th century horology, uniting technical ingenuity with sculptural grace. Conceived through the collaboration of Louis Cartier and the master clockmaker Maurice Coüet (1885–1963), they transformed timekeeping into an art of illusion. Inspired by the magician-horologist Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, Coüet devised a system of transparent rock-crystal discs that carry the hands without visible connection to the movement, creating the sensation that time itself floats weightlessly in air.
Between 1923 and 1925, Cartier and Coüet produced six monumental Pendules Portique Mystérieuses, each a unique architectural composition combining geometry, transparency, and opulence. The design, resembling a classical gateway or temple façade, allowed the dial to hang freely within the structure, while the concealed movement above provided the power to the transparent discs. Every part of each clock was handmade in Paris taking up to a year to complete and involving the workshops of Fourrier for the hardstone pillars and carvings, Coüet for the movements and concealed motion work and Cartier for the jewelling. The diamond-set hands are works of art in their own right.
The present example, completed on 15 June 1925, is the sixth and final clock in the series and the only one surmounted by a carved rock-crystal shishi, or Buddhist lion. In East Asian tradition, the shishi serves as a guardian figure symbolising courage, wisdom, and divine protection. Concealed beneath this creature lies the hidden movement that animates the floating diamond-set hands, transmitting power invisibly through the crystal discs.
The clock’s design evokes a torii, the gateway to a Shinto shrine, symbolising passage between the earthly and the divine. Its transparent dial, suspended between two rock-crystal columns banded with black enamel and gold, embodies Cartier’s mastery of proportion, light, and material harmony. Blending Japanese symbolism with the refined geometry of Art Deco and the exoticism of the Egyptian Revival, it represents the Maison’s genius for cultural synthesis and modern design.
Once in the collection of Gunter Sachs (1932–2011) — the visionary collector, photographer, and patron of contemporary art — this clock reflects his fascination with objects that merge beauty, intellect, and innovation. For Sachs, as for Cartier, elegance was inseparable from invention. The present Mystery Portico Clock remains a sublime expression of that ideal: a work in which art, technology, and time achieve perfect and enduring balance.