| Height | 6 feet (1895mm) |
| Case | The period but restored and associated case veneered in olivewood oysters with walnut and ebonised fruitwood mouldings and boxwood stringing, onto an oak carcass. The hood restored back to rising, the main cornice moulding above an olivewood cushion-moulded frieze, supported by matching ebonised Solomonic columns (partially restored) with integral turned capitals and bases, flanking the olivewood dial aperture, and with conforming quarter-columns to the hood extensions at the rear. The hood supported by a shallow convex throat moulding above the long rectangular trunk door with ebonised moulded frame, olivewood oyster veneers and geometric boxwood line inlays, with ebonised framed glazed pendulum lenticle, the sides with matching oysters. The ebonised and cross-grain cavetto/ovolo base moulding, crowning a re-built plinth with conforming olivewood veneers and boxwood stringing, and standing on four restored bun feet. |
| Dial | The 9¾ inch (247mm) square gilt-brass dial with winged cherubs head corner spandrels and signed along the lower edge Johannes Fromanteel, Londini. The narrow silvered brass chapter ring with internal quarter division ring inside Roman hours and stylised fleur-de-lys half-hour marks with Arabic minutes every 5 inside the outer division ring. The finely matted centre with subsidiary silvered seconds ring, low-set shuttered winding holes, date square above VI and well pierced and sculpted blued steel hands, the dial fixed with four latched dial feet. |
| Movement | The tall movement with five slender knopped and ringed pillars latched to the frontplate and planted with reverse-wound five-wheel trains; the going train with bolt-and-shutter maintaining power, anchor escapement and pallet access slot in the backplate, the pendulum suspended from a steel lever regulated by an engraved and calibrated Arabic dial positioned to the III side between the movement plates; the strike train governed by a high position countwheel on the backplate, striking on the bell above. The movement steadied on taper-pins onto the replacement seatboard. |
| Duration | 8 days |
| Provenance | Sotheby’s New York, Important English Furniture, 23 Jan. 1988, lot 43a; Christie’s, Important Clocks, 6 July 2001, lot 68, sold for £48,225: The John C Taylor Collection, inventory no.68 |
| Literature | Huygens’ Legacy, The Golden Age of the Pendulum Clock, Holland, 2004, p.150-3; Garnier & Hollis, Innovation & Collaboration, 2018, p.276-277 |
| Escapement | Anchor with calibrated one-second pendulum (formerly 1¼ seconds) |
| Strike Type | Countwheel hour, high on the backplate |
| Exhibited | 2004, Palais Het Loo, Holland, Huygens’ Legacy, exhibit no.55; 2018, London, Innovation & Collaboration, exhibit no.77 |
Exhibit № 18: John Fromanteel, London. Circa 1675
An interesting Charles II olivewood and boxwood strung month-going striking longcase clock with rise and fall regulation dial
£85,000
This fine movement and dial have been associated with this period, but restored, olivewood case for at least 40 years and possibly longer. It was perhaps during this marriage that the escapement was altered from a 1¼ seconds pendulum, as indicated by the seconds dial that is divided in four for every five seconds, to fit into the case that has a lenticle for the present one-second pendulum, which is unusually calibrated to the lower bob-sliding block.
This is one of two clocks with a similar remote pendulum regulation dial that were exhibited in London in 2018, at Innovation & Collaboration, suggesting a possible link between the two. The other example is a spring clock by William Clement, exhibit no.59. In both cases, the spring-suspended pendulums are adjusted via an engraved calibrated dial mounted to the top right-hand side of the movement plates, and both regulation dials share ‘j’-type engraving, with conventional 1s to their main dial chapter rings.
The Clement is adjusted via a rack and pinion on the backplate, but in this clock the pendulum length is controlled via a pivoted arbor to a suspension lever. These regulation dials are accessible only when the hood is raised, but adjustments can be made without stopping the clock.
There are at least two further examples recorded, another by William Clement and one by Robert Seignior.
Product Description
This fine movement and dial have been associated with this period, but restored, olivewood case for at least 40 years and possibly longer. It was perhaps during this marriage that the escapement was altered from a 1¼ seconds pendulum, as indicated by the seconds dial that is divided in four for every five seconds, to fit into the case that has a lenticle for the present one-second pendulum, which is unusually calibrated to the lower bob-sliding block.
This is one of two clocks with a similar remote pendulum regulation dial that were exhibited in London in 2018, at Innovation & Collaboration, suggesting a possible link between the two. The other example is a spring clock by William Clement, exhibit no.59. In both cases, the spring-suspended pendulums are adjusted via an engraved calibrated dial mounted to the top right-hand side of the movement plates, and both regulation dials share ‘j’-type engraving, with conventional 1s to their main dial chapter rings.
The Clement is adjusted via a rack and pinion on the backplate, but in this clock the pendulum length is controlled via a pivoted arbor to a suspension lever. These regulation dials are accessible only when the hood is raised, but adjustments can be made without stopping the clock.
There are at least two further examples recorded, another by William Clement and one by Robert Seignior.
Additional information
| Dimensions | 5827373 cm |
|---|
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