Switzerland to help fix rare clock damaged during attack on Brazilian congress

Surveillance videos of the attack showed a militant walking past a clock set on a piece of furniture, and knocking it to the floor, where it shattered. Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved

Together with luxury watchmaker Audemars Piguet, the Swiss government plans to restore a 17^th-century clock destroyed during the attempted coup in the Brazilian capital on January 8.

As thousands of supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro broke into three government buildings in Brasilia, surveillance videos showed a militant walking past a clock set on a piece of furniture, and knocking it to the floor, where it shattered. It is one of dozens of works of artExternal link that were vandalised during the attack.

The damaged timepiece is one of only two models of the clock made by clockmaker to the French king, Balthasar Martinot: the other, smaller one can be found in the Château de Versailles. The clock in Brasilia had been a gift of the French court to the king of Portugal in 1808, who subsequently took it to Brazil.

Earlier this week the Brazilian culture minister announced that Switzerland would help restore the clock, Swiss public radio RTS reportsExternal link. The Swiss ambassador in Brasilia, Pietro Lazzeri, told RTS that Audemars Piguet had reached out to help with the restoration.

“The next step will be to set up a team of specialists to assess the damage,” Lazzeri said. “We need a multidisciplinary team to work on this complex operation.”

“This mission to protect the historical and artistic heritage is an emblematic element of the friendship between Switzerland and Brazil,” he added.