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The Encyclopedia of Horology

Table clock · Londres

Bracket clock

Verified

The ebony case is fitted with two large bronze handles.

Technical facts

Inventory number
MIH IV-498
Object type
Table clock
Place of production
Londres
Dating
1700 - 1725
Materials and techniques (catalogue wording)
Bois, Bronze, Laiton, Argent
Dimensions (catalogue)
Dimensions: 53.0 x 30.0 x 20.0 cm
Inscriptions (catalogue)
Joshua Gibbs London (platine arrière); J. Gibbs London (cadran)

Historical significance

  • The ebony case is fitted with two large bronze handles.
  • Several indications are engraved on the silver chapter rings: at the top, the age of the moon; on the right, "strike or silence"; on the left, "fast-slow".
  • The main dial shows the hours and minutes and has two apertures in the center: the lower one shows the date; the other, which bears the clockmaker’s signature, reveals a small pendulum indicating that the clock is running.
  • The movement, which has a back plate engraved with scrolls, is fitted with two fusees with gut cord and a verge escapement. It also has an hour and quarter-hour striking mechanism as well as an eight-bell carillon, automatically released on the hour.
  • This piece is characteristic of 18th century English clocks. Like the one described here, the engraved decoration is often remarkable.

Photographs

Bracket clock (MIH IV-498)
Bracket clock (MIH IV-498) — Musée international d'horlogerie, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Museum collection photograph, rights review pending. MIH collection record
Bracket clock (MIH IV-498)
Bracket clock (MIH IV-498) — Musée international d'horlogerie, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Museum collection photograph, rights review pending. MIH collection record
Bracket clock (MIH IV-498)
Bracket clock (MIH IV-498) — Musée international d'horlogerie, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Museum collection photograph, rights review pending. MIH collection record

Photographs are illustrative examples of the type, not necessarily the exact object described. Verify details against the source file page.

Sources & references

  1. Musée international d'horlogerie, online collection record, inv. IV-498: https://collection.mih.ch/fr/collection/item/38834/

Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.