Lot 79
A fine and rare late 17th century ebony quarter repeating table clock with alarm Joseph Knibb, London
16 December 2020, 14:00 GMT
London, New Bond StreetSold for £50,250 inc. premium
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A fine and rare late 17th century ebony quarter repeating table clock with alarm
Joseph Knibb, London
The shallow caddy top with tied bud handle over foliate mounts to the front and sides, framed by four squat urn finials, the front door with pierced sound fret and two applied escutcheon mounts (the left hand pinned to allow access to the keyhole), with a pair or rectangular glazed side panels, on a plinth base, the 6.25inch square dial signed along the lower edge Joseph Knibb, London, with two slots flanking the XII 'N-S' and 'R-N' (Not strike- Strike and Ring - Not ring), the winged cherubs head spandrels framing the silvered chapter ring with outer minute track (marked in Arabic 5s), Roman hours with fleur-de-lyse half-hour markers and an inner quarter hour track, the centre finely matted and carrying the silvered Arabic alarm-setting dial, with finely fettled blued steel hands (the hour restored, but retaining the original hexagonal centre), the twin gut fusee movement united by six baluster shaped pillars, all latched to the frontplate, the going train terminating in a knife edge verge escapement, the strike train with rack system acting on a single bell above (the alarm sounding on the same bell), probably with a quarter repeat originally taken from the strike train (part of train and bell lacking, but with original pivotted hammer intact), the backplate with single line border framing a symmetrical design of four pairs of flowers (tulips, anenomes and irises), the lowermost pair of irises on cut stalks below the curved copperplate signature Joseph Knibb Londini fecit. 34cms (13ins) high
The shallow caddy top with tied bud handle over foliate mounts to the front and sides, framed by four squat urn finials, the front door with pierced sound fret and two applied escutcheon mounts (the left hand pinned to allow access to the keyhole), with a pair or rectangular glazed side panels, on a plinth base, the 6.25inch square dial signed along the lower edge Joseph Knibb, London, with two slots flanking the XII 'N-S' and 'R-N' (Not strike- Strike and Ring - Not ring), the winged cherubs head spandrels framing the silvered chapter ring with outer minute track (marked in Arabic 5s), Roman hours with fleur-de-lyse half-hour markers and an inner quarter hour track, the centre finely matted and carrying the silvered Arabic alarm-setting dial, with finely fettled blued steel hands (the hour restored, but retaining the original hexagonal centre), the twin gut fusee movement united by six baluster shaped pillars, all latched to the frontplate, the going train terminating in a knife edge verge escapement, the strike train with rack system acting on a single bell above (the alarm sounding on the same bell), probably with a quarter repeat originally taken from the strike train (part of train and bell lacking, but with original pivotted hammer intact), the backplate with single line border framing a symmetrical design of four pairs of flowers (tulips, anenomes and irises), the lowermost pair of irises on cut stalks below the curved copperplate signature Joseph Knibb Londini fecit. 34cms (13ins) high
Footnotes
Literature: Illustrated and described in R.A.Lee; The Knibb Family Clockmakers, The Manor House Press, 1964, Plate 81 and page 181 "Joseph Knibb, London. Table clock with ebony veneered case with repousse gilt metal mounts on the caddy top. The lifting handle, finials and escutcheons are of a design which now becomes standard. The eight day striking movement is fitted with alarm mechanism with setting dial under the hands. Stopwork for striking and alarm above chapter ring. Circa 1680-82. In the possession of Mrs Oakes."
For a similar repeat system operated from the strike train, see Dawson, Drover & Parkes, Early English Clocks, Antiques Collectors Club, 1982, pp392. Illustrated is an example by Edward Burgis, but others are known by Richard Colston, William Herbert and Fromanteel, see plates 557 to 563.
See Sunny Dzik, Engraving on English Table Clocks, 'Art on a Canvas of Brass, 1660-1800' 2019, figure 8.6 for a related cut-stalk backplate with curving signature on a Joseph Knibb table clock. Other Knibb cut stalk patterns can be seen in plates 8.7 and 8.8, and in the digital library.
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