Clocks · Lantern clock
Lantern clock by Chevrier, London, c. 1730
- Maker / attribution
- Chevrier (maker)
- Date
- c. 1730
- Historical period
- Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)
- Country of origin
- England
- Place
- London
- Object type
- Lantern clock
- Materials / technique
- brass
- Dimensions
- Height 14 cm
- Stock no.
- SKU 515
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Howard Walwyn (SKU 515)
- Catalogue title (original)
- CHEVRIER. An Anglo-French brass lantern clock of rare diminutive proportions (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Howard Walwyn Fine Antique Clocks (dealer), London (stock number SKU 515), this is a lantern clock by Chevrier, made in London, England, dated c. 1730. The Atlas places it in the Early Modern Horology period (1600 – 1750) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: brass. Recorded dimensions: Height 14 cm. The record is illustrated with 4 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 charming George II period Anglo-French brass lantern clock of rare diminutive proportions made for the Ottoman market.. The mellow brass baluster pillared case has foliate frets with crescent tips to each side and a bell strap surmounted by a top finial also with a Turkish crescent tip. The unusual glazed and arched opening side doors are original. The 2 ¾ x 3 ¾-inch dial has four applied foliate corner spandrels, a raised chapter ring with Turkish numerals, a matted centre and a well facetted French style steel single hand. The maker’s signature Chevrier London is engraved on an inset plaque within the break-arch top. The short duration movement has a knife edge verge escapement behind the backplate and hour strike on a bell. Date: circa 1730 Height: 5 ½ in (14 cm) excluding finial 6 ¼ in (16 cm) including finial Width : 2 ½ in (9 cm) Depth : 3 ½ in (10.5 cm) including steel spurs * Chevrier is recorded as working in London in the second quarter of the 18 th century. This stunning little lantern clock is the smallest one we have ever had. HW6043
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
Lantern, chamber and Gothic clocks
Domestic weight-driven clocks were made in southern Germany, Switzerland, Italy and Flanders from the fifteenth century. These 'Gothic' or chamber clocks have an open iron frame with corner posts, a verge escapement controlled by a foliot or balance wheel, and often an alarm or hour striking on a bell mounted above.
In England the lantern clock appeared around 1600: a brass posted-frame clock with a bell on top under decorative frets, hung on a hook or set on a wall bracket. After about 1658 many were converted to pendulum control, so originality of the escapement is a key question for any surviving example.
What to look for
- Iron (continental) or brass (English) posted frames with turned corner pillars and finials.
- A single hour hand — minute hands are rare before the pendulum era.
- Evidence of conversion: plugged holes, replaced escapement wheels or later pendulums.
- Fret designs and engraving on the dial centre, which help date English lantern clocks.
Dating clues
- Continental Gothic chamber clocks: c. 1450–1650.
- English lantern clocks: c. 1600–1720, with provincial examples later.
- Short 'bob' pendulum conversions after 1658; long pendulums with anchor escapement after c. 1670.
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:FoliotAnchor (recoil) escapement
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