Clocks · Lantern clock
Lantern clock, English possibly London, c. 1685–1690
- Maker / attribution
- Unrecorded in source
- Date
- c. 1685–1690
- Historical period
- Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)
- Country of origin
- England
- Place
- English possibly London
- Object type
- Lantern clock
- Dimensions
- Height 37 cm
- Stock no.
- SKU 474
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Howard Walwyn (SKU 474)
- Catalogue title (original)
- A fine late 2nd Period London style lantern clock in an excellent state of preservation. (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by Howard Walwyn Fine Antique Clocks (dealer), London (stock number SKU 474), this is a lantern clock, made in English possibly London, England, dated c. 1685–1690. The Atlas places it in the Early Modern Horology period (1600 – 1750) of its Clocks collection. Recorded dimensions: Height 37 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 — Howard Walwyn
A fine late 2 nd Period London style lantern clock in an excellent state of preservation. The 4 ¾-inch dial (and narrow 1 inch chapter ring) has a finely engraved centre with exquisite flowers and foliage. It has a narrow 1-inch chapter ring with sword hilt half-hour markers. It retains what appears to be its original steel single hour hand. The short duration movement has a verge escapement with a short brass bob pendulum and period lead weight. The clock strikes the hours on a single bell. This charming clock is in a sleepy state and has a lovely mellow bronze patina. Height : 14 ½ in (37 cm) Width : 6 ½ in (16.5 cm) Depth : 7 ½ in (19 cm) including spurs HW6053
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
Related records
Clocks · 1598–1603
Circular table-clock with calendrical and lunar indications made by Nicholas Vallin in London between 1598 and 1603.
Science Museum Group, London
Clocks · 1611
English iron lantern clock, with wheel balance, by John Holloway, Market Lavington, Wiltshire, England, 1611.
Science Museum Group, London
Clocks · 1630
Lantern clock by Francis Forman, England, 1630
Science Museum Group, London
Clocks · 1632–1640
Turret clock, England, 1632–1640
Science Museum Group, London
Clocks · 1645–1655
Balance-wheel brass lantern clock, with two driving weights and one counterweight, by Thomas Knifton, Cross Keys, Lothbury, London, England, 1645–1655.
Science Museum Group, London
Clocks · c. 1650
Lantern alarm clock, silver, by David Bouquet, circa 1650
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Clocks · 1650–1660
Lantern clock by Peter Closon, England, 1650–1660
Science Museum Group, London
Clocks · c. 1660
Longcase clock, c. 1660, English, made by Ahasuerus Fromanteel
Victoria and Albert Museum, London