Daniel De St. Leu, LondonA George III silver-mounted tortoiseshell four train, musical, quarter chiming small table clock, made for the Turkish market. Circa 1780

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The Astor family, living at Clivedon for nearly four generation, had the longest tenure of any of the families that have occupied the house. They were the seventh family to take up residence, and carried on the tradition of previous occupants for redesigning and rebuilding. The link between all of the families was politics, from the second Duke of Buckingham onwards, Clivedon was a magnet for politicians of the day. When George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham bought Clivedon in 1666 he had the pleasures of the chase and pleasures of the flesh in mind for he built Clivedon as a hunting lodge and a place where he could entertain his mistress and his friends. William Waldorf Astor bought Clivedon from the Duke of Westminster in 1893 for $1,250,000, a huge sum but not perhaps to a man reputedly then worth $200,000,000. Both the house and gardens were redesigned on a grand scale but it was Nancy Astor that brought Clivedon to fame. When King Edward VII came to stay he was most taken with his hostess, even when the King expressed a wish to play bridge and Nancy declined with the phrase 'I'm afraid I can't tell a King from a knave'. She went on to become the first lady Member of Parliament, a remarkable achievement which Winston Churchill described as 'feeling as though some woman has entered his bath with nothing to protect himself other than his sponge'. Guests to Clivedon included European Royalty, Poets, authors, actors and artists, there was never a dull moment. But in 1961 the Profumo affair ended the fairytale that was Clivedon and after Bill Astor died in 1966 the house was turned over to the National Trust and is now a luxury hotel.

Daniel De St. Leu, London A George III silver-mounted tortoiseshell four train, musical, quarter chiming small table clock, made for the Turkish market. Circa 1780

Details

Daniel De St. Leu, London

A George III silver-mounted tortoiseshell four train, musical, quarter chiming small table clock, made for the Turkish market. Circa 1780
The case surmounted by a concave-moulded top applied with foliate cast silver mounts and surmounted by an urn on a pedestal, foliate cast pierced and chased gallery sound frets with blue silk backing, the angles with silvered metal urn finials suported on four detached columns with palmette capitals, the sides centred by radially pierced foliate cast oval silver sound frets with silver piqué spandrels, large baluster-form silver drop handles, trellis-cast silver rear door, the base on silver palmette feet, the dials within an elaborate foliate engraved silver mask decorated with blue and green enamel, the circular white enamel chapter disc now with Roman and Arabic chapters and signed DANl. DE St. LEU WATCH MAKER TO HER MAJESTY LONDON, pierced brass hands, subsidiary dials above for STRIKE/SILENT & CHIME/NOT CHIME, white enamel arched dial above for six tune selection; BENI SAKIT - MORESEA ARIA - SABAC HOLIF - MORESEA ARIA - USHAC DEVIR - MORESEA ARIA, the movement with four fusees, later platform lever escapement, a central nest of eight bells positioned above the movement plates with quarter chimes played via pin barrel and seven hammers, the music playing on the same bells via a separate pin barrel and set of fifteen hammers, the hour struck on a bell mounted on the foliate engraved backplate signed Danl. De St. Leu Watchmaker to Her Majesty LONDON within a foliate cartouche
15¾ in. (40 cm.) high

Provenance

Lord and Lady Astor, Clivedon
Clivedon house sale, Phillips, Son & Neale, Ltd., 15, 16, 17 & 18 May, 1967, lot 436

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

Lot Essay

Daniel De St. Leu was of Genevan origin and was trained as a watchmaker. He worked in London from 1753 to 1797, receiving the accolade Watchmaker to the Queen in 1765. He was renowned for making very fine gold, enamel and gem-set watches for the Turkish market. The present clock is a tour de force of understated opulence; its case combines precious tortoiseshell and elaborate and beautifully chased silver mounts whilst the dial is surrounded by a silver mask decorated with enamel. The movement is an exceptional example of horological design; clocks movements with four trains are extremely rare. In brief there are four spring barrels, four fusees, four sets of wheels and then there are eight bells, fifteen hammers and a further hour bell. All this within a case that would normally fit a standard movement with just two wheel trains and one hour bell - a remarkable achievement.
The catalogue entry for the clock in the Clivedon House sale read as follows:
A fine tortoiseshell and cut steel mounted bracket clock with architectural design case, domed top and urn finials, having white enamelled dial and two subsidiary ditto, blue enamelled surround, having a musical movement for 6 tunes by Dan. De St. leu, Watchmaker to Her Majesty, London, 15in. high. It sold for £920.

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