German Gifts from Europe :: European Gift Palace

Shield clocks from Black Forest - hand painted clocks

For a long period of time the shield clocks were the most popular models from the German Black Forest. Long before the cuckoo clocks have started their worldwide success story the shield clocks were sold in large numbers. Besides Germany the clocks have been successful in many other countries.

Since the end of the 18th century shield clocks have been manufactured. They were the most popular Black Forest clocks until the middle of the 19th century. The basic design consists of a square clock shield (case) with a semicircle on the top. The wooden shield usually is handmade. Later the shield was made of porcelain, too.

The shield clocks are usually hand painted by experienced artists what makes every clock a unique work of art. During the peak of production in the 19th century the decoration of shield clocks was done by using transfer pictures. The huge demand forced the Black Forest clockmakers to develop this new technique for decorating clock shields. The beautiful paintings have bright and strong colors. The most common paintings are flowers that are painted on a special undercoat which was also invented by the Black Forest clockmakers. This undercoat made the painting last much longer than before and was significantly responsible for the great success of the German shield clocks. The early shield clocks often featured a cuckoo call just like the modern cuckoo clocks have. The cuckoo was integrated into the semicircle. Some shield clocks even have a quail call.

Nowadays, the shieldclocks are still being manufactured by Black Forest clockmakers. Some workshops even have designed historical replica shield clocks (Rombach und Haas). The European-Gift-Palace offers shield clocks by Hubert Herr, Hones (in german Hönes) and Rombach & Haas. If you like shield clocks don't miss out on the historical clocks by Rombach and Haas ("Romba"). The company also offers individual painting of shield clocks.