Clocks · Longcase clock
Longcase clock by William Dent, London, c. 1685
- Maker / attribution
- William Dent (maker)
- Date
- c. 1685
- Historical period
- Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)
- Country of origin
- England
- Place
- London
- Object type
- Longcase clock
- Dimensions
- Height 198 cm
- Stock no.
- SKU 538
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Howard Walwyn (SKU 538)
- Catalogue title (original)
- WILLIAM DENT LONDINI FECIT– James II period longcase clock. (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Howard Walwyn Fine Antique Clocks (dealer), London (stock number SKU 538), this is a longcase clock by William Dent, made in London, England, dated c. 1685. The Atlas places it in the Early Modern Horology period (1600 – 1750) of its Clocks collection. Recorded dimensions: Height 198 cm. The record is illustrated with 6 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 rare and beautiful James II period 10-inch brass dial panelled marquetry longcase clock. The exceptional early case is constructed primarily of oak and veneered in olivewood with walnut and ebonised mouldings and inset panels of floral and foliate marquetry to the trunk and base. The sides to the trunk are veneered in olivewood panels and have sycamore crossbanding. Standing on ebonised bun feet there is a brass lenticle to the trunk door and the now front-opening hood is flanked by ebonised barley twist columns with a sound fret above. The 10-inch square brass dial is mounted with a silvered chapter ring and winged cherub corner spandrels. The centre is finely matted and has closed winding holes enclosed by shutters. The dial is signed by the maker William Dent Londini Fecit along the bottom edge of the dial plate. The high-quality, five pillar movement has 8-day duration and hour strike via an inside countwheel and there is bolt and shutter maintaining power. The clock is complete with its flat topped brass cased weights and brass pendulum bob. Height : 78 in (198 cm) Width : 17 in (43 cm) Depth : 10 in (25.5 cm) * William Dent was born in 1652 and was made a Free Brother of the Clockmakers ’ Company in 1674. Among his apprentices was Jeremiah Martin who went on to work for Thomas Tompion . In 1697 William Dent signed the Clockmakers’ Company Oath of Allegiance. He was not heard of after 1704 when he last paid quarterage . References : B. Loomes, Clockmakers of Britain: 1286-1700, p.159 B. Loomes, Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World: Complete 21st Century Edition, p.211 HW5631
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
Longcase (tall-case or grandfather) clocks
The longcase clock was born from two seventeenth-century innovations: Christiaan Huygens's pendulum (1656–57) and the anchor escapement (c. 1670). A long seconds pendulum, nearly a metre long, swings with a small arc, and enclosing it together with the driving weights in a tall wooden case protected the mechanism and created a new piece of furniture. London makers such as Ahasuerus Fromanteel, Thomas Tompion and Joseph Knibb set the pattern.
By the eighteenth century longcase clocks were made throughout Britain, the Netherlands, Scandinavia (the Swedish Mora clock), France (the Comtoise from the Franche-Comté), Germany and colonial America. Eight-day movements with two weights became standard in better clocks; thirty-hour clocks with one weight and a rope or chain were cheaper alternatives.
What to look for
- Winding holes in the dial: two (eight-day, going and striking) or none (thirty-hour, pulled up by a chain).
- Brass dials with applied chapter rings (earlier) versus painted iron 'white' dials (after c. 1770 in Britain).
- Moon-phase arches, date apertures, seconds dials and maker's name on the dial.
- Case woods and style: ebonised, walnut marquetry, lacquer, oak or mahogany; regional styles from London, Lancashire, Scotland or America.
- Whether the movement and dial match the case — 'marriages' are common.
Dating clues
- Square brass dials suggest c. 1670–1720; arched brass dials c. 1715–1790.
- Painted (white) dials were made by Birmingham dial-makers from about 1772.
- Comtoise clocks with repoussé pendulums are mostly nineteenth century.
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) escapementDeadbeat escapementAnchor escapement
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