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Ebonised bracket clock by John Williamson — view 1 of 2
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Clocks · Bracket clock

Ebonised bracket clock by John Williamson

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
John Williamson (maker)
Date
c. 1690
Country of origin
Unrecorded in source
Object type
Bracket clock
Materials / technique
ebonised
Stock no.
Product 641
Credit line
Dealer listing, The Antique Clock Company (product 641)
Catalogue title (original)
JOHN WILLIAMSON SMALL EBONISED BRACKET CLOCK (English)

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Record summary

Catalogued by The Antique Clock Company (dealer), Dorset (stock number Product 641), this is a bracket clock by John Williamson, dated c. 1690. The Atlas places it in the Early Modern Horology period (1600 – 1750) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: ebonised. The record is illustrated with 2 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 — The Antique Clock Company

John Williamson Small Ebonised Bracket Clock A highly attractive, small, striking English twin fusee Bracket Clock by John Williamson of Leeds. This 8-day duration twin fusee movement of superb quality, has a verge escapement, brass pendulum rod with a pear shaped bob, with the earlier style of top and bottom potence. The movement sounds the hours on a bell with a brass hammer head. The backplate is decoratively engraved depicting asymmetrically scrolling foliage, as is the back cock with a small steel apron. There is a central pendulum lock and beautifully made set up springs with pinned on clicks acting on the decoratively turned click wheels, together with a centrally located, large, squared brass screw to the bottom potence, being signed in cursive script ‘John Williamson in Leeds Fecit’ The ebonised case of small proportions has four beautiful ball and spire finials, an inverted bell top with brass mounts to the sides and back, ringed bun feet, flame escutcheons to the door and topped by an asymmetrically scrolling dolphin handle incorporating eagle masks. The 6” dial with silvered chapter ring and Roman hour numerals, inner quarter hours and outer minutes with Arabic five minute markers and fine half hour divisions, the matted centre with a decorated calendar aperture below XII. Cherubs head spandrels to the corners separated by asymmetrical engraving having exquisitely pierced and chased blued steel hands, being signed to the bottom of the dial plate: ‘Jn Williamson, Leeds, fecit’. Although signed ‘in Leeds fecit’ it is known that John Williamson also worked in London, a fact borne out by the high standard of finish of this delightful little clock. It is unusual to find clocks of this period made in the provinces, a fact which adds to its rarity and desirability. Height: 13.5″ or 34.5cm (With handle) **This clock is delivered and set up for free within the UK. We regularly ship clocks all over the world with our trusted Fine Antiques Packers & Shippers. Please ask for a quote should you require this service.

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:Anchor (recoil) escapement

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