Table clock, Desk clock - Michael Graves - Alessi - 'Mantel Clock 03' - 1st Serie - in original packaging - Ebonized wood & ABS veneered in maple - 1988

Original Alessi “Mantel Clock 03” — 1st series, from 1988 — handmade
In its original packaging! Very rare. Never used!

Original Alessi Spa — Crusinallo (Omegna)

1st series, designed in 1986 by Michael Graves for Alessi.
Only a few hundred of these mantel clocks were produced in the first series.

The design of this mantel clock refers to the long tradition of miniature architecture. This table clock was produced from 1986 to 1999, when it had to be recalled due to manufacturing issues. It was reissued in 2013.

A coveted and rare collectible!

Entirely handmade, this clock is a small work of domestic architecture that fascinates with its many construction details and one-of-a-kind design. This little jewel, designed by the great Michael Graves for Alessi, is the result of a meticulous investigation into the long tradition of conceiving artefacts as miniature architecture.

The pendulum and clockwork run perfectly.
The clock is in good condition, with signs of use visible due to its age; please check the photos to avoid any misunderstanding.
The age of the clock accounts for these signs of use; nevertheless, it remains a beautiful object.
In unique condition for an object of this age.

Details:
Model: Mantel Clock 03
Materials: Ebonized wood and maple-veneered ABS.
Quartz movement with AA battery
Design: Michael Graves (1986), 1988
Dimensions: 24 × 16 × 9 cm

Alberto Alessi
“This table clock was manufactured from 1988 to 1999, after which it had to be retired due to manufacturing issues. It is an excellent example of the creative peak of Michael Graves’s postmodern talent, playfully referencing the Biedermeier style he greatly admired.”

Graves commented on the project in 1988: “In designing the table clock, I was interested in exploring the established tradition of viewing artefacts as miniature architecture. There are countless examples in which furniture and artefacts are placed in interiors as idealized objects that draw their primary cues from proportional architectural systems. I have always been interested in the ambiguity that arises between these suggestions for ‘internal buildings’ and their external precedents.” (Alessi: The Design Factory, Edizioni Accademia, 1998, p. 93)

Michael Graves
Born in Indianapolis, he has taught architecture at Princeton since 1962. His architectural works include the Portland Building and the Humana Building, the extension to the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Newark Museum. He created the bestselling 9093 kettle for Alessi. Michael Graves died in 2015.