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Lot Essay
With the exception of the harlequin pair with which it was sold in 2004, we are not aware of other Cole clocks comparable to the present example. Although not signed by him (as with most Cole clocks), the clock rests firmly within his oeuvre. Of particular note are the finely engraved case and dial, constant features of his work and regularly seen on his famous strut clocks. Malachite and other hardstone mounts are also quite typical. Cole is well known for his clocks in the form of miniature pieces of furniture such as the sideboard and chiffonier timepieces sold Christie's London, 5 July 2006, lot 43 (£21,600), 6 December 2006, lot 41 (£25,200) and 4 July 2007, lot (£14,400). However, these tripod table clocks are rare examples of him producing full-size pieces. The sphinxes seen on this clock may be seen on Cole's finest mantel clocks such as the superb coromandel example illustrated by J.B. Hawkins in Thomas Cole and Victorian Clockmaking, Sydney, 1975 (item 33) and an engraved ormolu clock (item 32).
Some clocks by Cole have a secret signature and others (such as the present clock) were simply given a reference number. He probably worked in this way because clients did not wish for his name to be seen. Hawkins (p. 36) estimates that Cole started his numbering system at 500 circa 1846/47 and that it ended with his death in 1864 at no higher than 1900, with perhaps 200 un-numbered clocks having been made prior to 1846.
Thomas Cole was born in 1800, the son of James and Catherine Cole of Nether Stowey in Somerset. His father was thought to have been a clockmaker and this may explain how Thomas and his elder brother, James Ferguson Cole, were introduced to the trade. Both were immensely talented but their apprenticeship is a mystery. There is much speculation about them having studied under the great French clockmaker Abraham Louis Breguet (d.1823).
The two brothers formed a partnership in 1821 and by the next year had begun to produce a small series of highly complicated silver hump-back travelling clocks. The hump-back carriage clock was originally designed and made fashionable by Breguet ten years earlier, lending support to the Cole brothers' theoretical apprenticeship. These carriage clocks were amongst the most complicated pieces being made in England at the time and Thomas Cole was then just twenty-two years old.
By 1835 the brothers had gone their separate ways. Thomas's first wife had died and he married again in 1841 and later had two sons and a daughter. By 1845 he called himself A designer and maker of ornamental clocks and he began to make his now famous and popular series of exceptional quality clocks that appealed enormously to a rising class of Victorians made wealthy from the Industrial Revolution.
It is not known how many other turntable tripod clocks Thomas Cole made. The present clock is retailed by Hunt & Roskell (then one of London's leading jewellers), the company exhibited Cole's work at the 1851 Great Exhibition.
The extraordinary design and exceptionally high level of workmanship that this clock displays is testament to Thomas Cole's genius for innovation and individuality.
Some clocks by Cole have a secret signature and others (such as the present clock) were simply given a reference number. He probably worked in this way because clients did not wish for his name to be seen. Hawkins (p. 36) estimates that Cole started his numbering system at 500 circa 1846/47 and that it ended with his death in 1864 at no higher than 1900, with perhaps 200 un-numbered clocks having been made prior to 1846.
Thomas Cole was born in 1800, the son of James and Catherine Cole of Nether Stowey in Somerset. His father was thought to have been a clockmaker and this may explain how Thomas and his elder brother, James Ferguson Cole, were introduced to the trade. Both were immensely talented but their apprenticeship is a mystery. There is much speculation about them having studied under the great French clockmaker Abraham Louis Breguet (d.1823).
The two brothers formed a partnership in 1821 and by the next year had begun to produce a small series of highly complicated silver hump-back travelling clocks. The hump-back carriage clock was originally designed and made fashionable by Breguet ten years earlier, lending support to the Cole brothers' theoretical apprenticeship. These carriage clocks were amongst the most complicated pieces being made in England at the time and Thomas Cole was then just twenty-two years old.
By 1835 the brothers had gone their separate ways. Thomas's first wife had died and he married again in 1841 and later had two sons and a daughter. By 1845 he called himself A designer and maker of ornamental clocks and he began to make his now famous and popular series of exceptional quality clocks that appealed enormously to a rising class of Victorians made wealthy from the Industrial Revolution.
It is not known how many other turntable tripod clocks Thomas Cole made. The present clock is retailed by Hunt & Roskell (then one of London's leading jewellers), the company exhibited Cole's work at the 1851 Great Exhibition.
The extraordinary design and exceptionally high level of workmanship that this clock displays is testament to Thomas Cole's genius for innovation and individuality.