Lewis Walduck
Cataloguer
Lot 86*
A 17th century and later silver-mounted quarter repeating ebonised table clock Joseph Knibb, London
2 July 2025, 13:00 BST
London, New Bond StreetSold for £10,240 inc. premium
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A 17th century and later silver-mounted quarter repeating ebonised table clock
Joseph Knibb, London
The later Knibb-style case with an oak carcass and ebonised finish set to the shallow caddy top with a silver handle and four silver mounts, the sides set with three pierced silk-backed sound frets, all raised on a moulded base sitting on silvered bun feet. The 6.25-inch square brass dial signed along the lower edge Joseph Knibb, London with silvered winged cherub head spandrels framing the silvered Roman and Arabic chapter ring with outer minute band and inner quarter hour ring around the matted centre, strike/not strike lever above XII, with three latched dial feet to the twin gut fusee movement, the rectangular plates united by five vase-shaped latched pillars, with knife edge verge escapement and rack strike on a bell, the pull quarter repeat acting on a smaller bell (both bells mounted on steel stands with typical 'Knibb style' fettling to the foot, the backplate with single line border enclosing interlaced foliate scrolls and flower heads framing the curved signature and foliage surrounding the signature Joseph Knibb, Londini fecit 35cms (14ins) high.
The later Knibb-style case with an oak carcass and ebonised finish set to the shallow caddy top with a silver handle and four silver mounts, the sides set with three pierced silk-backed sound frets, all raised on a moulded base sitting on silvered bun feet. The 6.25-inch square brass dial signed along the lower edge Joseph Knibb, London with silvered winged cherub head spandrels framing the silvered Roman and Arabic chapter ring with outer minute band and inner quarter hour ring around the matted centre, strike/not strike lever above XII, with three latched dial feet to the twin gut fusee movement, the rectangular plates united by five vase-shaped latched pillars, with knife edge verge escapement and rack strike on a bell, the pull quarter repeat acting on a smaller bell (both bells mounted on steel stands with typical 'Knibb style' fettling to the foot, the backplate with single line border enclosing interlaced foliate scrolls and flower heads framing the curved signature and foliage surrounding the signature Joseph Knibb, Londini fecit 35cms (14ins) high.
Footnotes
Joseph Knibb was born in 1640 and is believed to have apprenticed under his cousin, Samuel Knibb, in Newport Pagnell from 1655 to 1662. He began his independent career just outside the City of Oxford, but by the mid-1660s, he had moved within its jurisdiction. Initially, there was some resistance to his gaining Freedom of the City, but with the support of the University—where he was registered as a gardener—he was granted Freedom in 1678 upon payment of a fine of 20 nobles and the donation of a leather bucket.
In 1670, the same year his former master Samuel Knibb passed away, Joseph moved to London, naturally taking over the family firm. This was a pivotal moment in horology, as the early years of the pendulum clock presented new opportunities for an ambitious and inventive mind. By 1677, his reputation had grown so significantly that he was commissioned to supply a turret clock for Windsor Castle. More royal commissions followed, and in 1682, he was paid for work carried out for Charles II.
Over the years, Knibb trained nine apprentices, including John Drew in 1676 and Brounker Watts in 1684. He became an Assistant to the Clockmakers' Company in 1689 and remained actively involved in the trade until his retirement in 1697, when he moved to Hanslope. He passed away in December 1711, leaving behind a legacy as one of England's most innovative and esteemed clockmakers.
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