Bonhams 1793 : A mid 18th century walnut bracket clock with pull quarter repeat John Ellicott, London

Bonhams magazines

My Bonhams

Advanced search

withdrawn

12 Dec 2012 14:00 GMT London, New Bond Street
Fine Clocks
Back to auction 19809

A mid 18th century walnut bracket clock with pull quarter repeat

John Ellicott, London
The inverted bell top case surmounted by a substantial brass handle, over the moulded cornice and break arch door with quadrants, flanked by fluted canted corners and glazed side panels, over the double plinth base, the signed 6.75 inch brass Roman and Arabic dial with foliate mask spandrels with subsidiary strike/silent dial to the arch, with calendar and mock pendulum apertures to the matted centre, the chapter ring with chamfered inside edge and lozenge shaped half hour markers, the twin train fusee movement with verge escapement, the rectangular plates united by five knopped pillars, the pull quarter repeat chiming on a rack of six bells and striking the hour on a seventh, the backplate engraved with foliate scrolls centered on a basket of fruit. 50.5cm (20in)

Estimate:

£10,000 - 15,000
€12,000 - 18,000
US$ 15,000 - 23,000

Footnotes

John Ellicott was born in 1706, the son of a clockmaker of the same name. He was one of the outstanding clockmakers of the 18th century, producing a large number of quality clocks for the home market and export. He developed his own form of temperature compensated pendulum and was instrumental in the perfection of the cylinder escapement. He was clockmaker to King George III and was paid 150 pounds per annum in this role. He worked from St Swithin's Alley, Royal Exchange, London. In 1738 he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society and later published two articles in their 'Philosophical Transactions'. He supplied portable regulators to astronomers notably, Nevil Maskelyne, Charles Mason and James Cook for the recording of the transit of Venus. He was himself a keen astronomer and observed the transit of Venus in 1761 from an observatory built in his home in Hackney.