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Circa 1705
Sold
6ft 4 inches high
A very rare William & Mary walnut 30-hour miniature longcase clock with pull quarter repeat, made for the Spanish market. The well preserved case retains the original caddy top and also the original plinth. The dial is signed just beneath the chapter ring and the 5 pillar movement has unusual vase-shaped pillars, hour strike and quarter repeat on 4 bells. Provenance • Christie’s, New York, 28 October 1992, sold for $110,000 Literature • P. G. Dawson, C. B. Drover, D. W. Parkes, Early English Clocks, pp. 215, 230, 269, 488, plates, 307-309, 402 • R.W. Symonds, Master pieces of English Furniture & Clocks, Batsford, 1940, p. 155 True miniature longcase clocks from this period are great rarities and are highly prized amongst collectors. The beautifully scaled-down case of this clock is in a remarkable state of preservation retaining both the original caddy top and plinth. The movement and case are illustrated and described in detail in Early English Clocks op. cit. The clock by Christopher Gould shown in plates 307-309… is quite exceptional in that it has quarter repeating work on four bells and, while most of the short duration clocks are housed in quite modest cases, this one is in an exquisite miniature longcase (plate 402). The movement is also of high quality and sturdily made. It was evidently made for a Spanish client for the 7 inch dial has Suona and Non Suona engraved by the strike/silent lever. All the engraving is of the highest quality and the gilding on the dial plate and the corners is intact.