Lot 85
85
A Charles II ebony Dutch striking table clock of Phase III type
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VA… Read more
A Charles II ebony Dutch striking table clock of Phase III type

JOSEPH KNIBB, LONDON. CIRCA 1685

Details
A Charles II ebony Dutch striking table clock of Phase III type
Joseph Knibb, London. Circa 1685
The case with foliate tied gilt-metal handle to the cushion moulded top applied with foliate cast gilt-metal mounts and with urn finials to each corner, glazed sides, replaced gilt-metal swivel escutcheon to the front door, moulded flat plinth, the 6¾in. square brass dial signed Joseph Knibb London beneath the silvered chapter ring with trident half hour markers and five minute markers, blued steel hands, the matted centre with calendar aperture, the movement with brass rectangular plates secured by five vase-shaped latched pillars, twin gut fusees, knife-edge verge escapement, Dutch striking on two bells of different tone via a calibrated countwheel on the backplate engraved with tupils and foliage and signed Joseph Knibb Londini Fecit within a foliate cartouche
12½in. (31.5cm.) high
Provenance
Sotheby's, London 6 June 1996, lot 366.
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

Alan Lloyd, The Collectors' Dictionary of Clocks, 1964, p.74, gives the following excellent explanation of Dutch striking; A form of dual striking where the hours are struck on a big bell and at the half hours the hour is repeated on a smaller, higher-toned bell; This method of striking is only possible with a locking plate. In fig. 183 (and also the present lot) it will be noted that the locking plate, (or countwheel) is notched in duplicate, so that the locking arm will allow a repetition of each number of blows. Dutch striking is not often found, and as it is not practical with rack-and-snail striking, it soon dropped out after that system became generally adopted towards the end of the 17th century.
The number of Knibb's table clocks with countwheel are far rarer than those with rack-and-snail strike. The advantages afforded by the rack-and-snail system considerably out-weighed the countwheel's qualities. Knibb would have adopted the new strike system as quickly as possible and never looked back.

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