A George III ormolu mounted mahogany large wall clock

BROCKBANKS, LONDON

Details

A George III ormolu mounted mahogany large wall clock
Brockbanks, London
The case with a central cream painted Roman dial with pierced and chased brass hands, pendulum regulation sector below XII and strike/silent lever at X, flanked by a large ribbon-tied palm and laurel wreath surmounted by the Royal Arms, the massive five pillar twin chain fusee movment with deadbeat escapement and wood-rod pendulum suspended from a regulation bar above the movement plates, rack strike on a large bell above, the back plate signed Brockbanks. London
49 ins. (125cm square)

Provenance

Recorded at Hambro's Bank, Bishopsgate in the 1940s

Lot Essay

The case's triumphal ormolu enrichments, comprising the Royal Arms adopted by George III accompanied by a ribbon-tied trophy of palms and laurels, are conceived in the Franco-Roman style promoted by Sir William Chambers (d.1796), architect to George III. Chambers's design of the mid 1760's for a monumental table clock to be executed for George III featured ribbon-tied palms and laurels wreathing the face (see N. Goodison, William Chambers's Furniture Designs, Furniture History Journal, XXVI, 1990, pp.67-89 and figs.22 & 23
John Brockbank (d.1806) was established as a clockmaker in Cornhill in 1769 and took his brother Myles (d.1821) as an apprentice in that year. The latter was Free of the Clockmakers' Company in 1776 and traded with his brother as Brockbanks until 1794.

More from Clocks

View All