Beschreibung:

ROBERT PRENZEL (1866-1941) A RARE CARVED LONG CASE CLOCK, CIRCA 1910 REPUTEDLY PART OF THE ORIGINAL FURNISHINGS OF GLENORMISTON, WESTERN DISTRICT, VICTORIA THE MOVEMENT STAMPED F. ZIEGELER, MELBOURNE Decorated in the Arts and Crafts style, with a beaten and embossed brass Roman numeral dial, engraved pewter hands and a weight driven eight day quarter striking movement on two bells, hour striking on one bell, the hood boldly carved with gryphons to each corner within foliate surrounds extending to either side on a stippled ground, centred by the relief carved motto 'Time / and Tide / Wait for / No / Man,' above a frieze carved with five individual moon caricatures, the casement door inset with a panel depicting a gryphon in elongated form, applied with a beaten metal escutcheon and strapwork, the lower section with a carved panel depicting a gothic mask head, stamped 'ROBT PRENZEL / CITY ROAD / SOUTH MELBOURNE / EUROPEAN LABOUR ONLY' to the interior and to the top of the hood, raised on a plinth base 240cm high. Provenance: by repute, the Black family, Glenormiston homestead, Western District, Victoria Circa 1942 to present - by descent, the Roberts family, Victoria History: According to Roberts family history, the long case clock presented here with a case carved by the renowned Melbourne wood carver, Robert Prenzel was purchased by the current owner's father, Mr Harold Roberts, from the sale of furniture from Glenormiston homestead in Victoria's Western District circa 1942. At the time, the Roberts family were living in the previous caretaker's residence on the Glenormiston estate and Mr Roberts was working as manager of Trufood Australia, a company in which the Black family of Glenormiston held an interest. Steuart and Isabella Black were among Prenzel's greatest patrons. From 1905 to 1910 they commissioned Prenzel to design and construct numerous pieces of furniture and architectural ornamentation, including a comprehensive bedroom suite, newel posts and panels for the staircase of Glenormiston. Heavily carved with both European and Australian floral and faunal motifs, these works are today considered to be icons of Prenzel's oeuvre. The long case clock is heavily influenced by both the Arts and Crafts movement of the late 19th/early 20th century, combined with Gothic Renaissance motifs which are most often found in Prenzel's works dating from the late 19th century up to 1910. The maker's stamp on the clock lists Prenzel's address at that time as City Road, South Melbourne, a site which he occupied from 1904 to 1909, which helps to substantiate the dating of the clock's manufacture to circa 1910. The clock has been in the Roberts family since its purchase circa 1942, initially passing to the vendor's youngest brother by inheritance, then to the vendor following his brother's passing. The clock's movement was extensively serviced over a three month period in 1992, with worn and missing parts repaired and replaced, but the case is largely untouched, the only blemish being a burn mark to the back lower left hand edge. The work of Melbourne clockmakers Johann (Fritz) Frederick Wilhelm Ziegeler (1855-1936) and his son Johann Frederick Wilhelm Jnr. forms an integral part of many of the iconic public buildings constructed in Australia in the late 19th century until 1928. Specialising in the manufacture of tower clocks, they were responsible for the making clock movements for buildings including Flinders Street Station and Royal Arcade in Melbourne, as well as numerous post office buildings throughout Australia. The movement for the clock presented here was manufactured in Melbourne by the Ziegeler firm, although it is uncertain as to whether it was made by father or son. Reference: Hose, Ken and Judy, Ziegeler: Melbourne's Clockmaker, Melbourne 2008.