Lot 876
Robert Philp, London. An Important and Finely Chased and Engraved Ormolu and Paste Set Quarter Striking Musical Mantel Clock of Excellent Proportions, with Lunar Calendar, Centre Seconds and Pull Repeat, Made for the Chinese Market
26 November 2019, 10:30 HKT
Hong Kong, Six Pacific PlaceSold for HK$325,625 inc. premium
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Robert Philp, London. An Important and Finely Chased and Engraved Ormolu and Paste Set Quarter Striking Musical Mantel Clock of Excellent Proportions, with Lunar Calendar, Centre Seconds and Pull Repeat, Made for the Chinese Market
Year: Circa 1780
Movement: Three train chain fusee movement striking on two bells, verge escapement, rack striking on a nest of six bells playing two musical tunes on the hour or at will through the pull repeat, highly decorative floral and scroll engraved back-plate, signed within a cartouche.
Dial: White enamel dial with Roman numerals, Arabic five minute divisions, gilt pierced decorative hands, two subsidiary dials for lunar calendar and musical tune selector, Jig or Minuet, green and yellow paste set circular decoration, decorative engraved gilt mask, paste set decorative arched door.
Case: The decorative finely engraved and polished case with chased spandrels, floral cartouches, pierced and chased decoration mounted throughout, the elaborate Pagoda shaped top with green and red past elongated oval decoration, finely engraved balustrading, the whole surmounted on finely engraved and stylised shaped feet.
Dimensions: 305mm High, 160mm Wide at the base.
Movement: Three train chain fusee movement striking on two bells, verge escapement, rack striking on a nest of six bells playing two musical tunes on the hour or at will through the pull repeat, highly decorative floral and scroll engraved back-plate, signed within a cartouche.
Dial: White enamel dial with Roman numerals, Arabic five minute divisions, gilt pierced decorative hands, two subsidiary dials for lunar calendar and musical tune selector, Jig or Minuet, green and yellow paste set circular decoration, decorative engraved gilt mask, paste set decorative arched door.
Case: The decorative finely engraved and polished case with chased spandrels, floral cartouches, pierced and chased decoration mounted throughout, the elaborate Pagoda shaped top with green and red past elongated oval decoration, finely engraved balustrading, the whole surmounted on finely engraved and stylised shaped feet.
Dimensions: 305mm High, 160mm Wide at the base.
Footnotes
Robert Philp，重要及精緻銅鎏金鑲寶石報時報刻音樂座鐘，配月相盈虧顯示：大三針及手動音樂開啟，為中國市場而製造，年份約1780。
Robert Philp is recorded as a maker of musical and astronomical clocks and watches and was working in London from 1755 to circa 1800. Philp is known to have supplied clocks exported to the Chinese market and also movements for installation in Chinese cases. The present example was recently discovered in a Japanese private collection and is a superb example of a Robert Philp clock destined for the Chinese Imperial court in the late 18th century. The Emperor Qianlong (1736 – 1795) is one of the most famed Emperors of the Qing dynasty and was an avid collector of clocks and watches. For a footnote on European Clocks made for the Chinese market, please refer to Lot 877.
A similar proportion but less complicated ormolu quarter striking clock by Robert Philp was sold at Sotheby's London, 10 July 2013, Arts of Europe sale for £73,300.
For a comparable example of similar proportion, please see The Study of Time II, pg. 460, Fig. 6.
