This auction has ended. View lot details
You may also be interested in
Lot 101
A rare French four glass gilt brass and cloisonné enamel constant force falling ball clock with aneroid barometer and thermometerCirca 1900
16 October 2019, 13:00 EDT
New YorkSold for US$15,075 inc. premium
Looking for a similar item?
Our Watches specialists can help you find a similar item at an auction or via a private sale.
Find your local specialistAsk about this lot
Client Services (New York)
Client Services (Los Angeles)
Client Services (San Francisco)
A rare French four glass gilt brass and cloisonné enamel constant force falling ball clock with aneroid barometer and thermometer
Date: Circa 1900
Movement: Timepiece with tapered rectangular plates joined by five cylindrical pillars, visible platform lever escapement planted on the front plate, driven by the weight of a series of steel balls falling on the vanes of a paddle wheel concentric with the great wheel of the movement, all on a platform raised on four scroll supports
Dial: Circular white enamel enhanced with floral swags, Arabic chapters, aperture to view the escapement at 12 o'clock, pierced gilt scroll hands, within a bezel set with brilliants, the aneroid barometer below within a similar bezel, an adjacent obelisk with enamel Fahrenheit thermometer
Case: Rectangular, with glazed sides and doors, surmounted by a lid with a standing lion opening to reveal a chute delivering the balls to the wheel, above a frieze with applied pierced cloisonné enamel panel, the molded base with similar panel concealing a drawer holding the supply of balls
Size: 21 ½ in (54.5cm) high
Movement: Timepiece with tapered rectangular plates joined by five cylindrical pillars, visible platform lever escapement planted on the front plate, driven by the weight of a series of steel balls falling on the vanes of a paddle wheel concentric with the great wheel of the movement, all on a platform raised on four scroll supports
Dial: Circular white enamel enhanced with floral swags, Arabic chapters, aperture to view the escapement at 12 o'clock, pierced gilt scroll hands, within a bezel set with brilliants, the aneroid barometer below within a similar bezel, an adjacent obelisk with enamel Fahrenheit thermometer
Case: Rectangular, with glazed sides and doors, surmounted by a lid with a standing lion opening to reveal a chute delivering the balls to the wheel, above a frieze with applied pierced cloisonné enamel panel, the molded base with similar panel concealing a drawer holding the supply of balls
Size: 21 ½ in (54.5cm) high
Footnotes
Described and illustrated in Derek Roberts Mystery, Novelty & Fantasy Clocks p 74.
A clock of this model, exhibited at the Paris Exposition Universelle of 1900, was the subject of an article in the Revue Chronométrique, (October 1900, pp 153-157) by the eminent horologist Mathieu Planchon.