Clocks · Bracket clock
Egyptian influence bracket clock by Brockbanks, London, c. 1805
- Maker / attribution
- Brockbanks (maker)
- Date
- c. 1805
- Historical period
- Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
- Country of origin
- England
- Place
- London
- Object type
- Bracket clock
- Materials / technique
- ebony
- Dimensions
- Height 19.75 in (50 cm)
- Stock no.
- Product 578
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, P A Oxley (product 578)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Rare Egyptian influence bracket clock by Brockbanks of London (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by P A Oxley (dealer), Wiltshire (stock number Product 578), this is a bracket clock by Brockbanks, made in London, England, dated c. 1805. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: ebony. Recorded dimensions: Height 19.75 in (50 cm). 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 — P A Oxley
An exceptionally rare Regency bracket clock by Brockbanks of London, with designs aspects almost certainly inspired by Thomas Hope. The unusually large lancet top shaped bracket clock is veneered with flame veneer to the front elevation and is mounted with Egyptian influence designs to the corners. Featuring not only brass but also bronze mounts and with ebony line inlay throughout. The large high quality triple fusee movement has a 'ting tang' quarter striking feature on two bells and with the hour striking on a separate single bell. The striking can also be turned off via a lever above number XII. The time is displayed on an enamel dial with blued steel hands. This is not just a clock but an exceptional work of art which may have originally been made for an Exhibition or public area such as a meeting room or library. Please Note: Both the case and dial have been sympathetically restored. This highly desirable and collectable clock is now available to view at our Showrooms in Wiltshire by appointment. The movement is in working order but it will require a full overhaul and service before delivery. It will then be guaranteed for 3 years
Historical context
Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
Harrison solves longitude; Mudge invents the lever; Breguet's Paris workshop defines the modern watch.
The age of the deadbeat escapement, compensated pendulums and observatory regulators. Domestic clocks spread through the middle classes: English longcase and bracket clocks, French gilt-bronze mantel clocks, Viennese Biedermeier wall clocks, Black Forest painted-shield clocks, and the first American shelf clocks.
Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Early Modern 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.
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