James Stratton
Director
Lot 29*
A FINE mid 19th century ENGRAVED GILT BRASS GIANT STRUT TIMEPIECE Thomas Cole, London, no. 1591, retailed by C. F. Hancock Son & Co., London
22 June 2021, 14:00 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £3,825 inc. premium
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A FINE mid 19th century ENGRAVED GILT BRASS GIANT STRUT TIMEPIECE
Thomas Cole, London, no. 1591, retailed by C. F. Hancock Son & Co., London
The rectangular case with elaborate cast and stepped edge with beaded rim framing the formal engraved running border, set to the rear with a hinged gilt brass support complete with its original wheel 'runner' to allow for easy angle adjustment, the 6.5 inch arched silvered Roman dial with engraved edge and large Roman chapter ring with outer minute track, the centre decorated with a symmetrical pattern of foliage and strapwork over the engraved lower section depicting sprays of flowers and foliage around the signature cartouche, set within an arched mask of repeated flowers and beading, with good original blued steel hands, the signed movement with vertical lever platform lever escapement with plain three arm balance and integral winding key to the rear, any regulation effected through a shuttered aperture.
11 in (28cm) high
The rectangular case with elaborate cast and stepped edge with beaded rim framing the formal engraved running border, set to the rear with a hinged gilt brass support complete with its original wheel 'runner' to allow for easy angle adjustment, the 6.5 inch arched silvered Roman dial with engraved edge and large Roman chapter ring with outer minute track, the centre decorated with a symmetrical pattern of foliage and strapwork over the engraved lower section depicting sprays of flowers and foliage around the signature cartouche, set within an arched mask of repeated flowers and beading, with good original blued steel hands, the signed movement with vertical lever platform lever escapement with plain three arm balance and integral winding key to the rear, any regulation effected through a shuttered aperture.
11 in (28cm) high
Footnotes
Provenance: The collection of Dr Eugene Antelis.
Thomas Cole "inventor, designer and maker..." exhibited six items in the 1851 Great Exhibition. This can be viewed as the start of the fashion for jewel-like engraved gilt brass timepieces that held such sway in the second half of the 19th century, an appreciation that still continues to this day. The six pieces included an inkstand with calendar and thermometer, an 8-day 'night and day' clock and a quarter-repeating flat 8-day clock. Just four years later at the Paris Exhibition, he was told by judges that he held '...a very distinguished position for true artistic excellence and superior workmanship.' He was elected to the Royal Society of Arts in 1861 and later admitted to the British Horological Institute, a bastion in which his horologically-minded brother James Ferguson Cole played a pivotal role. In 1862 both brothers exhibited at the London International Exhibition and Thomas was awarded a medal for "excellence of taste and design". Charles Frodsham, Secretary of the Jury, was moved to report that "...nothing could exceed the beauty of design and good taste of the varied models and general excellence of workmanship."
C.F. Hancock were one of the early retailers of Cole's work. The firm were established in 1848 and underwent several changes in name and address over the decades into the 20th century. They were jewellers and silversmiths to many of the crowned heads of Europe and Exhibition Medal winners in 1851, 1855, 1867 and 1873. C.F.Hancock Son & Co are listed as working from 1867-1870 (see Hawkins, J.B. (1975) Thomas Cole & Victorian Clockmaking. Sydney: Macarthur Press).
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