Beschreibung:

Y A GEORGE I EBONY TABLE TIMEPIECE WITH SILENT PULL-QUARTER REPEAT UNSIGNED, LONDON, CIRCA 1720 The five finned pillar single fusee movement with verge escapement regulated by lenticular bob pendulum and silent pull quarter repeat on two bells, the fine symmetrical Ho-Ho bird and honey bee inhabited foliate strapwork scroll engraved backplate incorporating eagle head masks over central winged figure of a heroic angel sounding a trumpet whilst holding a sword, the 6 inch brass break-arch dial with calendar and shaped bob apertures to the matted centre within applied silvered Roman numeral chapter ring with fleur-de-lys half hour markers and Arabic five minutes beyond the minute track, with pierced blued steel hands and Indian mask and scroll cast spandrels to angles beneath arch centred with a vestigial subsidiary regulation dial flanked by grotesque mask cast mounts, the inverted bell top case with generous hinged brass carrying handle over double cavetto top mouldings and opening front with fine complex raised mouldings to the break-arch glazed dial aperture and the scroll pierced upper quadrant frets, the sides with scroll-pierced break-arch sound frets bordered by conforming raised mouldings and the rear with rectangular door incorporating break-arch glazed aperture and upper quadrant frets set within the frame of the case, on cavetto moulded skirt base with block feet. 41cm (16ins) high with handle down, 24.5cm (9.75ins) wide, 17.5cm (6.75ins) deep. The current lot is designed to sound the hours and quarters on two bells only on demand. This form of quarter repeat mechanism is thought to have been devised for timepieces destined for night-time use in the bedroom; whilst striking clocks with quarter repeat facility were generally intended to be utilised downstairs during the day and upstairs at night. As a consequence silent-pull quarter repeating timepieces are rarer as the original owner would have to be very wealthy indeed to afford a timepiece reserved exclusively for use in the bed chamber. The design of the repeat mechanism itself can be compared to that on a timepiece by William Webster described in Dzik, Sunny and Still, Roger BENEATH THE DIAL, English Clock Pull Repeat Striking 1675-25 pages 109-112; and again on an example by Francis Gregg illustrated in Allix, Charles and Harvey, Laurence HOBSON'S CHOICE pages 78-9. This system is notable in that it features a relatively simple 'all-or-nothing' device, and an unusual wedge-shaped quarter-strike controller to both provide pump count control to the quarter hammer, and to act on a sleeve fitted to the hour hammer arbor to control disengagement of the hammer tail. The engraving to the backplate of the present timepiece can be compared to decoration discussed in Dzik, Sunny ENGRAVING ON ENGLISH TABLE CLOCKS, Art on a Canvas of Brass pages 265-71. Of particular note is the inclusion of honeybees, scrolls terminating with eagle heads and a Classically rendered figure to the centre. This style of engraving has roots in French Huguenot immigrant work and Dzik illustrates a walnut clock by Simon DeCharmes (page 267, Figure 15.6) exhibiting many similar features in both the design and execution of the backplate and detailing within the dial and case of the present clock. The dial of the current lot has evidence (filled hole) indicating that a signature plate was fitted at some point; with the above in mind, it would be highly likely the name that would have been on this plate would have has strong connections with the Huguenot community of London clockmakers who were a very important contributors to the clockmaking trade from during the latter years of the 17th century.