Tuesday, February 28, 2012

About Mora Clocks~

The story of the Mora clock is quite romantic~
the farming town of Mora, Sweden, fell upon hard times in the late 1700s.
The farmers all banded together and started making clocks! 
Each farmer's family had a specific task, 
like in a production line, and together the town 
created these unique clocks to sell to the wealthy.  
They made about 1000 clocks a year for 80 years. 
The clocks were sold without the wooden case~it was up to the buyer
to arrange for a carpenter to make a clock case for the clock works.
This explains why each Mora clock looks so different.
These Mora clocks were for sale at the 
Brimfield Fair when I visited last September.
They all averaged roughly $3500 a piece, and they are reproductions.
This Mora clock in one of the booths at Brimfield 
was an original, with the same price~!
You can find many examples online as  vendors are uploading
their inventory to the web to capture American shoppers
as this clock is the darling of the antique world right now.
This pretty mora clock has the original works 
and is for sale in my state of Massachusetts!
This shop has an extensive selection of authentic Mora clocks.
Early Mora clocks have the inscription of A S S Mora
on the face, which are the initials of the first clockmaker in Mora.
Early secondary paint in pretty pink covers this clock case!
This looks much like Annie Sloan Antoinette and Old White with dark wax!
This original 1820s Mora clock has a signed face as well.
If you are shopping for an authentic Mora clock 
you must check out Cupboards and Roses,
the Swedish shop located in Sheffield Massachusetts.
This 1810 Mora clock has its original paint with a garland of roses
and a painted landscape scene reflecting the popularity of chinoiserie.
The clock were often painted in lighter colors such as white or powder blue 
as they better reflected the candle light and were easier
 to read during the long dark winter.
The curvy female shape and the figure eight shape clock cases was standard
however taller and thinner cases were constructed in Northern Sweden.
This tall Mora has its original blue and salmon paint.
The idea of a band of poor farmers coming together to create 
 a thing of beauty that is now iconic is wonderful to imagine.
This is what I have learned and can share with you about Mora clocks.
Take a peek at this original and rare Mora 31" wall clock.
In cream, taupe and green it is for sale at only (!) $6500.
And a peek at the reproduction mora clocks we used to sell at Maison Decor.
They were very popular, and we sold hundreds!

Photobucket

31 comments:

  1. Loved this post Amy and all the background information on Mora clocks,i am in love with the pink and the aqua one,dreamy! i can't wait to see yours,
    xxx

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  2. Those are so pretty Amy....Nice story too!
    Lorraine

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  3. They are so beautiful, Amy! Expensive, but beautiful! : ) I love the shape and size of them.

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  4. How interesting. I love all of the ones you show and can't wait to see yours when it arrives. Great history. Hugs, Marty

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  5. Amy, I really enjoyed reading the back story to these clocks. And that pink one is absolutely gorgeous! I have traditional Grandfather clock that was a gift from my parents and have considered painting it. I really love the look of the finishes on these Mora Clocks. Thanks so much for passing this along. Following you on Linky now!

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  6. Those clocks are breath taking , I would love to own one

    and I would love to attend Brimfield show also, I have heard it is fabulous lots of high priced antiques you don't see on west coast flea markets

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  7. Gorgeous clocks....I can't wait to see yours :o)
    ~Des

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  8. I love Mora clocks too- and love my reproduction clock as well. Can't wait to see your new one!

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  9. It seems these are really the rage. They are so pretty. I didn't know the history behind them. Thanks for sharing and can't wait to see yours!

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  10. Oh my god, those are so gorgeous... I'm excited about your clock too!

    Cindy

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  11. Amy, I have always wanted a Mora Clock they are so very special!

    The pink and blue are perfect, so soft in color.

    xoxo
    Karena
    Art by Karena

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  12. What a wonderful informative post. Gorgeous clocks.
    Thanks Amy!

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  13. Oh so envious!! can's wait to see :)

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  14. I did not realize that they go that far back.They are so beautiful.

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  15. Thank you for the history lesson on Mora clocks. I can't wait to see your new treasure!

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  16. That was interesting to learn more about those clocks. I can't wait to see yours!

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  17. These are beautiful--TFS their story. Can't wait to see yours!

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  18. Oh Amy - what an interesting and beautiful post!!! I truly enjoyed it - and will have to start saving for one of these awesome clocks! It would look so perfect here at Heaven's Walk! :)

    xoxo laurie

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  19. The pink, the grey, the blues - all beautiful. Thank you for all this information! My husbands Grandfather was born in Sweden and I've often thought about where I might put a clock like this. Lovely :)

    xx
    leslie

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  20. They are all so beautiful. I would love to have one in our home.

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  21. these are truly amazing works of art. thank you much again... for the history lesson. would love to have one, but dont think it'll be anytime soon... or... later :)

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  22. My sister has an original Mora Clock from our Mormor and Morfar (Mom's mom and Mom's dad). It has the same cracked finish and always wanted to refurbish the writing but knew it would ruin the finish. There are many antiques in Sweden that they don't want to leave Sweden. Since she was born there (my brother and I were born here) she is allowed to buy stuff. She has a gorgeous table and Gustavian chairs. Both of my parents are from Sweden and they met in Los Angeles and later got married in Sweden. Thanks for sharing the clocks. I will see if I can get a picture of my sister's clock to share.

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  23. I have always admired those clocks, but never knew the history behind them...Thank you so much for sharing the beautiful story of the clocks and the wonderful pictures...

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  24. They are very beautiful. I love all the gorgeous paint colors.

    xo
    Claudia

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  25. Hi Amy,
    Thank you for the great information on my favorite clock. I hope someday to own an original one. My Grandfather was from Sweden, I love Swedish style, decorating and it is a dream of mine to sometime travel there. Can't wait to see where you put your clock.

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  26. Amy, wonderful post. I absolutely love these clocks and the great story behind them. I hope to have one one day but until then, glad I know a bit more about them. Have a great day. And thank you for the sweet comments about my chairs :) Looking forward to yours.

    MC

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  27. I love this post interesting. I love the clocks one is more beautiful than the other. I think the pink and blue are different.

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  28. Hey Amy...Love this post and the clocks simply make me smile!!!

    They look like something from a Disney movie...just delightful and their background makes them even more so.

    Someday...maybe Someday, I'll own one of these beauties.

    Janet xox
    The Empty Nest

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  29. Wow...love to own a Mora clock....Amy it's my dream. Yra,Brooklyn N.Y.

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  30. Everything I know about these I've learned from you! Can't wait to see yours
    Stacy

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