Clocks

The finest clocks from the English Golden Age – the period c.1660-1725 when huge strides were made in horology – are rare on the market. But this category embraces collectable timekeepers from all periods and places – from German table clocks and the classic Georgian longcase to the Victorian slate mantel clock and the advent of electricity.


The Clock in place.jpg

Thames boat club calls on trade to help find boathouse clock

21 November 2019

The memorial clock on the outside of the boathouse of the Dittons Skiff and Punting Club in Thames Ditton has been stolen and members have appealed to the antiques trade to help find it.

img_19-4.jpg

Wolley winds up to £4800

18 November 2019

Most regionally made Georgian oak longcase clocks can now be bought for under £500 but this example is by a highly regarded and collectable maker: John Wolley or Woolley (c.1738-95) of Codnor, Derbyshire.

img_26-3.jpg

Eclectic clocks chime with bidders

11 November 2019

Array of styles from traditional and electrical to atmospheric attracts Continental interest,

img_27-1.jpg

And here’s to you, Francis Robinson

11 November 2019

Among the top-priced clocks sold in October was a rare late-17th/early-18th century musical bracket clock by Francis Robinson of London.

img_42-1.jpg

Dial in for clocks by great makers at Kensington exhibition

04 November 2019

Dealer marks 25 years on Kensington Church Street with an exhibition of English big names

Francis Robinson bracket clock

Queen Anne bracket clock, Godwin table and Roman glass bowls – five auction highlights that caught bidders’ eyes in the last week

01 November 2019

ATG’s selection of hammer highlights this week includes a Queen Anne bracket clock made by Francis Robinson that more than doubled estimate.

img_20-6.jpg

Hands of history for Nelson memorabilia collectors

28 October 2019

The great appeal of an otherwise typical early 19th century longcase offered for sale on September 12 by Malvern auctioneer Philip Serrell was its painted dial.

img_22-1.jpg

Timely look at the clocks market

28 October 2019

Latest sales give a snapshot of what collectors are looking for amid different styles and eras

img_44-1.jpg

Pendulum pioneers

07 October 2019

In 1657, the 10-year-old Dutch orphan Christiaan Reijnaert was apprenticed to clockmaker Salomon Coster in The Hague. It was a momentous time for Coster: he is credited with building the first pendulum clock, incorporating the invention by Christian Huygens.

img_19-6.jpg

Marcks and spender – carriage clock attracts buyers at Hampshire sale

16 September 2019

Pitched at £500-800, this grand sonnerie carriage clock came with little information for bidders at Jacobs & Hunt’s (22% buyer’s premium) sale in Liss other than plentiful illustrations and the name C Marcks & Co, Bombay and Poona engraved to the silvered dial.

img_15-5.jpg

Novelty poop deck pops up

09 September 2019

Benefiting from the continuing fashion for late 19th century novelty mantel clocks, a gilt-brass and steel example by Guilmet made the running at Peter Wilson (22% buyer’s premium) of Nantwich.

img_10-1.jpg

Sully surfaces for a £17,000 sale

19 August 2019

Clock produced by Englishman influential in French horology impresses in Norfolk auction.

img_14-2.jpg

The late 19th century finds fashion favour

15 July 2019

Pieces from the late 19th century, a vibrant but occasionally derided moment in the history of the decorative arts, provided many of the highlights to Sworders’ summer Fine Interiors sale in Stansted Montfitchet.

img_5-2.jpg

Masterpieces to a Rothschild’s taste tempt buyers during a packed London sales week

08 July 2019

The 52-lot auction of furniture, paintings and works of art collected by members of the Rothschild family was among the most animated during a packed week of London showpiece sales.

img_33-4.jpg

The web shop window: Swedish clock from 1787

01 July 2019

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

img_7-3.jpg

Tompion ‘Q Clock’ takes £1.6m in London at Bonhams auction

24 June 2019

A clock made for King William and Queen Mary by Thomas Tompion (1639-1713) was hammered down for £1.6m atThe Clive Collection of Exceptional Clockssale on June 19 at Bonhams.

Qing dynasty musical automaton clock

Chinese Qing dynasty musical automaton clock – an amalgam of ingenuity and technical prowess – fetches over £1m at auction

24 June 2019

A Chinese musical automaton clock sailed over the £1m mark when it came up for sale at the Drouot auction centre in Paris.

img_15-2.jpg

Thornhill’s Chinaman strikes a chord in Ayr

17 June 2019

More of a curiosity than a clock but a decorator’s dream, a life-size caricature of a smiling Chinese man clutching a willow-pattern plate with gilt dragon hands emerged in the Ayr rooms of Thomas R Callan (17.5% buyer’s premium).

img_14-1.jpg

CLOCKS: Quare and Tompion – Rivals who clicked in London's Golden Age

10 June 2019

Golden Age collaboration between two London clockmakers leads a look at the market including hammer highlights, auction previews and dealer news.

img_19-2.jpg

Dealer offers bracket clock by Lewes’ finest Richard Comber

10 June 2019

Remarkably, of the approximately 110 clockmakers recorded working in Lewes from the mid-17th to the early 19th centuries, as many as 10 were operating almost side-by-side at this town on the River Ouse in the late 18th century.

Categories

News