Stock No.

Exhibit No.6

Height

6 foot 11 inches (2057 mm)

Case

The recent bespoke-made replica case, of slender architectural form with ebony-veneers on an oak carcass. The architectural rising hood with fine ebony mouldings, the tympanum mounted with a gilt-brass cartouche surmounted by a winged cupid’s head. The plain frieze with a gilt-brass swag mount below, flanked by gilt-brass multi-piece Corinthian capitals on three-quarter tapered ebony columns to the front and matching half-columns to the rear sides, flanking further side swag mounts. The hood resting on a convex throat moulding above a rectangular panelled trunk door, fitting straight to the trunk sides, with matching inset raised panels. The plain ebony veneered base, below a cavetto/ovolo plinth moulding, raised on four turned bun feet.

Dial

The 8¼ inch (210 mm) square brass dial with original and typical fire-gilding to the visible areas only, centrally signed A Fromanteel Londini fecit along the lower edge. The corners with superbly chased winged cherub spandrels, dotmarked, corresponding to dots on the dial plate, and fixed with single screws and steady pins, in the usual Fromanteel fashion. The narrow brass chapter ring is solid-silver-faced and engraved with an inner quarter division ring, Roman hour numerals with stylised fleur-de-lys half-hour marks, and outer Arabic minutes marked every 5, within the division ring. The finely matted centre with a square-chamfered date aperture above VI, shuttered winding holes and fine well-sculpted hands in blued steel. The whole dial held to the movement frontplate by four latched dial feet.

Movement

The typical early Fromanteel weight-driven verge movement having bottleshaped plates held by five latched finned baluster pillars, with twin barrels and large greatwheels mounted to the back, extending beyond the plates. The going train with knife-edge verge escapement with a short bob pendulum and bolt-and-shutter maintaining power, activated via a curved-scroll lever coming out from between the plates behind III. The strike train governed by an external countwheel with pinion-of-report, mounted high high in the train and striking the hours, via a vertical hammer arbor with horizontal hammer rotating onto a large horizontal bell mounted above, together with a small trip lever for re-sequencing the hours, behind IX, getting the strike back into phase with the hands.

Duration

8 days

Provenance

1890s, reputedly acquired by a member of the Radford family in Tavistock,
Devon for £5, thence by descent;
Early 1900s, the case reputedly destroyed in circumstances unknown;
By 1936, the HE Radford FSA collection; Mrs Herbert Radford, Lested
Lodge, Hampstead, and thence by descent;
By 1969 with G Radford Esq. and lent to the RA Lee exhibition, the First
Twelve Years of the English Pendulum Clock, thence by descent until sold;
Bearne’s, Exeter, 23rd Oct 2001, lot 611, sold for £53,168;
John C Taylor Collection, inventory no.71

Literature

RA Lee, The First Twelve Years of the English Pendulum Clock, exhibition
catalogue no.31;
Garnier & Hollis, Innovation & Collaboration, 2018, p.178

Escapement

Knife-edge verge with short bob pendulum