German gilt and engraved brass table clock
The case surmounted by the cast figure of a knight holding a spear on a steep concave top, each of the four sides of which is engraved with a winged cherubs head or a flower, on an open fret of pierced strapwork with a serpentine flat base, over four tapering columns set on each of the two removable side panels which are decorated with further strapwork, foliage and masks, the rear cover with two winding apertures set within a pattern of ribbands, foliage, swags, and - most unusually - incorporating a pair of hanging fish. The front panel with another pair of winged cherub's heads to the upper corners over swags of fruit and mythical term mounts, with pierced central aperture, all on a shallow spreading base.
The 2.5 inch silvered Roman and Arabic dial with alarm-setting subsidiary and pair of gilt brass hands.
The steel movement with tapering uprights, a pair of chain fusees, verge escapement and count wheel striking on a pair of bells mounted in the top section. 28cms (11ins) high
Photos and description thanks to Bonhams:
The clock is almost identical to a clock in the Warsaw museum apart from the engraving and later changes.
The top is similar design to Astronomical clocks in the British museum and Budapest museums although the tops are further embellished with wonderful mythical creatures and their movements are much more complex. The Budapest clock is dated 1577.
www.britishmuseum.org
The fretwork design on the bonnet of the case is quite similar to the work of Nikolaus Lanz of Innsbruck in Maurice's book numbers 149 and 150 (150 is in the link attached). These clocks are slightly older around 1550's and often have similar plainer cases and simpler engraving.
www.khm.at
It may not be a Lanz clock as he generally had two steps(?) on the square case pillars but if not its likely an associated maker around the same time.
The clock movement is often described as a metzger style movement who made many of the wonderful complex clocks of that era. They have three trains with the middle being perpendicular to the striking trains on the side. This requires much restoration but its a rare example of 3rd quarter 16thC clock.
The case surmounted by the cast figure of a knight holding a spear on a steep concave top, each of the four sides of which is engraved with a winged cherubs head or a flower, on an open fret of pierced strapwork with a serpentine flat base, over four tapering columns set on each of the two removable side panels which are decorated with further strapwork, foliage and masks, the rear cover with two winding apertures set within a pattern of ribbands, foliage, swags, and - most unusually - incorporating a pair of hanging fish. The front panel with another pair of winged cherub's heads to the upper corners over swags of fruit and mythical term mounts, with pierced central aperture, all on a shallow spreading base.
The 2.5 inch silvered Roman and Arabic dial with alarm-setting subsidiary and pair of gilt brass hands.
The steel movement with tapering uprights, a pair of chain fusees, verge escapement and count wheel striking on a pair of bells mounted in the top section. 28cms (11ins) high
Photos and description thanks to Bonhams:
The clock is almost identical to a clock in the Warsaw museum apart from the engraving and later changes.
The top is similar design to Astronomical clocks in the British museum and Budapest museums although the tops are further embellished with wonderful mythical creatures and their movements are much more complex. The Budapest clock is dated 1577.
astrolabic clock; table clock; thirty-hour clock; clock-case | British Museum
Astrolabic table clock; thirty-hour movement converted to pendulum; quarter-strike on two bells; side strike dial; rectangular gilt case with domed hood engraved with figures of Justice, Geometria, Hannibal, Juno, Diana, and others; bust portraits in panels; case with silvered metal columns to...
The fretwork design on the bonnet of the case is quite similar to the work of Nikolaus Lanz of Innsbruck in Maurice's book numbers 149 and 150 (150 is in the link attached). These clocks are slightly older around 1550's and often have similar plainer cases and simpler engraving.
Tischuhr
1550-1560, Künstler/in:Nikolaus Lanz, , Kunsthistorisches Museum Wien, Kunstkammer Wien
It may not be a Lanz clock as he generally had two steps(?) on the square case pillars but if not its likely an associated maker around the same time.
The clock movement is often described as a metzger style movement who made many of the wonderful complex clocks of that era. They have three trains with the middle being perpendicular to the striking trains on the side. This requires much restoration but its a rare example of 3rd quarter 16thC clock.
