Clocks · Bracket clock
Bracket clock by John Eagle, Londini Fecit, c. 1695–1700
- Maker / attribution
- John Eagle (maker)
- Date
- c. 1695–1700
- Historical period
- Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Place
- Londini Fecit
- Object type
- Bracket clock
- Materials / technique
- ebony
- Dimensions
- Height 30 cm
- Stock no.
- SKU 17
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Howard Walwyn (SKU 17)
- Catalogue title (original)
- JOHN EAGLE. WILLIAM III PERIOD EBONY TIMEPIECE (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Howard Walwyn Fine Antique Clocks (dealer), London (stock number SKU 17), this is a bracket clock by John Eagle, made in Londini Fecit, dated c. 1695–1700. The Atlas places it in the Early Modern Horology period (1600 – 1750) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: ebony. Recorded dimensions: Height 30 cm. The record is illustrated with 3 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — Howard Walwyn
A fine late 17 th century ebony and gilt mounted timepiece bracket clock by John Eagle whose work bears many similarities to that of Joseph Windmills. The 6 inch square dial is mounted with a silvered chapter ring and winged cherub spandrels to the four corners. The dial centre is matted and has a single ringed winding hole and it has finely pierced blued steel hands. The maker’s signature John Eagle Londini Fecit is engraved between VII and V on the raised chapter ring. The restored verge movement runs for 8-days. There is pull repeat-work for sounding the hours and quarters on 2 bells. The back plate bears the maker’s signature in a cartouche and is exquisitely engraved with tulips and scrolling foliage and the heart-shaped back cock is well engraved. The oak case of rare small size which is veneered with ebony, stands less than 12 inches high and is in the classic style of table clocks by Daniel Quare and Joseph Windmills. Standing on four brass bun feet and with a shallow dome top, the case is surmounted by a knopped and scroll carrying handle also in the manner of Daniel Quare and has finely cast gilt mounts. Height: 11 ¾ in (30 cm) excluding handle Height: 14 ¼ in (36 cm) including handle Width : 9 in (23 cm) Depth : 6 ½ in (17 cm) *John Eagle is recorded on page 169 of Brian Loomes’ Clockmakers of Britain 1286-1700’ as working in London between 1690, when he was made free of the Clockmakers’ Company, until 1715. He had previously been apprenticed to John Wheeler JH Signed / Inscribed John Eagle Londini Fecit
Historical context
Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)
Huygens' pendulum and balance spring transform accuracy; English makers develop the anchor and deadbeat escapements.
Huygens's pendulum (1656–57) improved clock accuracy from about a quarter of an hour to under a minute a day. The anchor escapement (c. 1670) and the long seconds pendulum created the longcase clock; London makers such as Fromanteel, Knibb, Tompion and Quare led European clockmaking, and French makers created the Boulle pendule.
Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Renaissance Horology
Atlas type guide
Bracket, table and spring-driven clocks
Spring-driven clocks freed timekeeping from the hanging weight. The coiled mainspring, documented from the fifteenth century, made portable table clocks possible; to even out its declining force, makers used the fusee, a conical pulley connected to the barrel by a gut line or chain. Renaissance table clocks from Augsburg and Nuremberg — drum-shaped, square or tower-shaped in gilt brass — were luxury scientific objects, often with astronomical dials and alarms.
After the pendulum, English makers developed the bracket clock: a wooden case with a carrying handle, a short pendulum with a verge escapement, and often repeating work to sound the hours on demand at night. Later examples use the anchor escapement. In the nineteenth century, 'table clock' became a broad term for spring clocks of every nationality.
What to look for
- A fusee in the movement (cone-shaped pulley) and the type of line — gut or chain.
- Verge escapement with a short bob pendulum, often with a decoratively engraved backplate.
- Repeat cords or buttons that make the clock strike again on demand.
- Gilt-brass engraved cases and horizontal dials on Renaissance pieces.
- Case shapes: inverted bell, bell top, break-arch, lancet or balloon.
Dating clues
- Drum and tower table clocks: c. 1520–1650.
- Ebony veneered English bracket clocks with verge escapements: c. 1670–1800.
- Engraved backplates were usual on English clocks until c. 1800, then generally plain.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
Read next:FuseeAnchor (recoil) escapement
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