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Circa 1687
Sold
6 ft 11 inches high
A very rare walnut 8-day longcase clock with exceptional proportions. CASE The case has a rising hood flanked by twist columns and inset with pierced walnut frieze frets to the front and sides beneath the elaborately moulded top. The hood is pasted with a label printed IDEN COLLECTION inventory number 1297. Convex throat mouldings above the rectangular trunk door, which is inlaid with geometric boxwood keyhole stringing and centred by a glazed lenticle; the crossbanded plinth is raised on walnut bun feet. DIAL The 10 inch square gilt-brass dial has latched feet and is signed THO TOMPION LONDINI FECIT at the base within wheatear border engraving; the silvered chapter ring has typical sword hilt half hour markers and Roman and Arabic chapters, finely pierced blued steel hands, the matted centre has shuttered winding holes and there are winged cherub spandrels to each corner. MOVEMENT The long brass plates have six latched ringed baluster pillars, the going train has anchor escapement with the original (?) brass-rod pendulum with a calibrated rating nut; bolt-and-shutter maintaining power with a steel operating lever to the right side of the movement; the strike train has an internal countwheel and hour strike on the bell above the plates; the backplate is clearly punch-numbered 118 to the top right corner Provenance The Iden Collection, inventory number 1297 Christie’s London, 24th November 1983 lot 207 Christie’s New York, 16th April 1998 NOTES A very lovely feature on the case of this clock is the vestiges of the original hood locking system, which Tompion employed on some of his earlier longcase clocks. Prior his standard system he tried out various hood locking systems, this example has the remains of the spring-loaded catch on the far left of the upper inside of the trunk. The fly cast mark Tompion No. 118 is one of only two known Tompion movements whose fly has the cast-in mark AG, perhaps for Ambrose Gardner, the other being for Tompion No. 120