Clocks · Skeleton clock
Skeleton Clock - England, c. 1900
- Maker / attribution
- Unrecorded in source
- Date
- c. 1900
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- England
- Object type
- Skeleton clock
- Dimensions
- 28 cm (Length), 16 cm (Width), 42 cm (Height); 28 mm (Length), 16 mm (Width), 42 mm (Height)
- Holding institution
- Museums Victoria, Melbourne
- Accession / object no.
- ST 26689
- Catalogue title (original)
- Skeleton Clock - England, circa 1900 (English)
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Record summary
Held and catalogued by Museums Victoria, Melbourne (object number ST 26689), this is a skeleton clock, made in England, dated c. 1900. The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Clocks collection. Recorded dimensions: 28 cm (Length), 16 cm (Width), 42 cm (Height); 28 mm (Length), 16 mm (Width), 42 mm (Height). 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
Summary — Museums Victoria
Brass movement on mahogany base. Made in England, circa 1900.
Physical description — Museums Victoria
Brass movement on mahogany base. Chapter ring is painted white. Cast bell is side mounted on top. Spring wound; anchor escapement.
Provenance
Bequest from Mrs E. M. Askew, Jul 1970
Historical context
Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
The wristwatch displaces the pocket watch; waterproof cases, self-winding and grand complications.
Between 1900 and 1945 clocks were electrified: master-clock systems ran factories and offices, synchronous mains clocks entered homes, and the Shortt free-pendulum clock set new standards of accuracy before the first quartz clocks (1927). Art Deco design reshaped mantel and table clocks.
Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Industrial Revolution
Atlas type guide
Skeleton clocks
A skeleton clock displays its movement: the plates are pierced to a minimum so that wheels, escapement and fusee can be seen, usually under a glass dome. French makers produced fine skeleton clocks in the late eighteenth century; in Victorian England they became popular showpieces, with frames in the shapes of cathedrals and famous buildings.
What to look for
- Pierced brass plates in scroll or architectural shapes.
- A glass dome and wooden or marble base.
- Fusee movements and sometimes passing strike on a bell.
Dating clues
- French skeleton clocks: c. 1780–1830.
- English cathedral-style skeleton clocks: c. 1840–1890.
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:Fusee
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