James Stratton
Director
Lot 44
A good late 18th century mahogany veneered bell topped brass-mounted striking table clock James Tregent, London
2 December 2025, 14:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street£3,000 - £5,000
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Lewis Walduck
Cataloguer
A good late 18th century mahogany veneered bell topped brass-mounted striking table clock
James Tregent, London
The case surmounted by a (later) acorn finial over four cast brass finials, and moulded upper section, the sides further mounted with intersecting human masks, the front door with pierced and engraved brass sound frets and a finely cast brass catch to the left-hand side, the glazed panel framed with brass banding. The sides with brass-bound fish scale sound frets backed in old red silk, all on a moulded base and further raised on a brass plinth with robust ogee-shaped brass feet. The 7-inch brass dial with Roman and Arabic silvered chapter ring enclosing a finely matted centre with a calendar aperture and blued steel hands, framed by four cast brass spandrels, the break arch with strike/silent and pendulum rise and fall subsidiaries surrounded by engraved foliate scrolls and signed to a shaped name plaque James Tregent, London. The double fusee movement with five robust knopped pillars, anchor escapement, and rise-and-fall regulation, striking the hours on a large polished bell, the backplate finely engraved with flowing neoclassical foliage and scrolls and later signed to the lower section George Proctor, 1880. Currently ticking and striking. 53cms (21ins) high.
The case surmounted by a (later) acorn finial over four cast brass finials, and moulded upper section, the sides further mounted with intersecting human masks, the front door with pierced and engraved brass sound frets and a finely cast brass catch to the left-hand side, the glazed panel framed with brass banding. The sides with brass-bound fish scale sound frets backed in old red silk, all on a moulded base and further raised on a brass plinth with robust ogee-shaped brass feet. The 7-inch brass dial with Roman and Arabic silvered chapter ring enclosing a finely matted centre with a calendar aperture and blued steel hands, framed by four cast brass spandrels, the break arch with strike/silent and pendulum rise and fall subsidiaries surrounded by engraved foliate scrolls and signed to a shaped name plaque James Tregent, London. The double fusee movement with five robust knopped pillars, anchor escapement, and rise-and-fall regulation, striking the hours on a large polished bell, the backplate finely engraved with flowing neoclassical foliage and scrolls and later signed to the lower section George Proctor, 1880. Currently ticking and striking. 53cms (21ins) high.
Footnotes
James Tregent (active circa 1770–1806) was an eminent London clock and watchmaker who operated from Cranbourn Street, Leicester Square. A member of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers between 1781 and 1808, Tregent held the prestigious appointment of Watchmaker to His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and to the Duke of Kent. His trade card, preserved in the Banks Collection, proudly advertises this royal patronage. Tregent's craftsmanship is characteristic of the refined precision and elegance associated with late eighteenth-century London horology. His will, dated 31 March 1806, is held in the National Archives (PROB 11/1440/351), and his work is recorded by both Brian Loomes and F.J. Britten.