Beschreibung:

AN IMPORTANT LATE 17TH CENTURY EBONY VENEERED LONGCASE CLOCK OF THREE MONTH DURATION WITH ROMAN-STRIKING AND ONE-AND-A-QUARTER SECOND PENDULUMJoseph Knibb, London The rising hood with shallow caddy top surmounted by three gilt brass flattened-ball finials over a blind fret supported by brass-mounted multi-piece Corinthian columns, centred by a cast gilt brass foliate swag terminating in tied ribbons, each side with pierced wood sound fret, the trunk with internal spoon lock and set with a mask to the centre of the upper cross-piece, the long door set with three panels, two long and one short, the sides matching, raised on a plain base and brass ball feet. The 10.5-inch square brass dial signed along the lower edge, Joseph Knibb London between winged cherub head spandrels interspersed by engraved foliate boughs to the sides and a symmetrical foliate motif above, all framing the large expanse of very fine matting acting as the perfect foil to the silvered skeletonised Roman chapter ring with each minute engraved on the minute band. The quarter-hour track with small leaf-shaped half-hour markers, and finely fettled blued steel hands. (In typical fashion for a Roman striking clock, the numeral four is marked by IV rather than IIII.) The weight driven movement secured to the backboard with a brass L-shaped bracket, with arched and slightly shouldered plates united by substantial knopped and ringed pillars latched to the frontplate, both trains with large diameter barrels and finely shaped collets to the wheels, the going train terminating in an anchor escapement, the rear pivot of which is supported on a single-footed cock mounted on the backplate with a long crutch to the two-piece pendulum which hooks on to a spring suspension hung from a shaped bracket at the top of the backplate, with butterfly suspension. The backplate with semi-circular cut-out for the anchor pallets. The strike train using the Roman notation system of sounding the hours on a pair of hammers and bells – one large and straight-sided to represent the numeral '5' and a smaller, lighter example to represent the numeral '1', controlled via a small-diameter outside countwheel with four crossings and external detent. Ticking and striking, together with the pendulum and a pair of very large brass-covered weights. 2.135m (7ft) high.FootnotesThe foregoing is a list of the seven Roman striking, three-month going, longcase clocks by Joseph Knibb that are known to exist. It is immediately apparent that the current clock is in a very select group of Golden Age clocks. Perhaps even more telling is that of the seven listed, only one matches the current lot in benefitting from the additional refinement of a skeletonised chapter ring. The other skeletonised example is illustrated in the standard reference work 'The Knibb Family Clockmakers' by R.A. Lee, in figures 32 and 48. At that time, the images had been supplied by Messrs. F. Partridge & Sons Ltd, one of the great Antique dealing dynasties of the modern period. It has not been seen in public since its publication in 1964 and its current whereabout is not known to us. The current clock, therefore, offers a remarkable opportunity to acquire an iconic clock from one of the world's most revered makers. Garnier & Hollis (2018): Innovation and Collaboration; 'The early development of the pendulum clock in England. Catalogue of the Exhibition held at Bonhams, 101 New Bond Street', London 3-14 September 2018, Exhibit number 100. (three-month duration, ebony case, 10.5-inch dial, solid chapter ring) R.A.Lee; The Knibb Family Clockmakers, The Manor House Press, 1964, plates 31 and 47 (three-month going, ebony case, un-recorded dial size, solid chapter ring) R.A.Lee; The Knibb Family Clockmakers, The Manor House Press, 1964, plates 32 and 48 (three-month going, ebony case, un-recorded dial size, skeletonised chapter ring) Roberts, D. (1990) British Longcase Clocks. Pennsylvania: Schiffer Publishing, Figs. 96 A and B (three-month go