A French Exhibition Skeleton Clock
A small French skeleton clock of the style exhibited at the Great Exhibition of 1851 held in the Crystal Palace, Hyde Park. The eight day timepiece movement has a silk suspension the timekeeping of which is adjusted via the wheel to the front. The white enamel dial has black Roman numerals and blued steel 'moon' hands. With inverted 'Y' shaped plates both numbered '594', the front one of which is fully engraved as is the pendulum bob. The brass base plate is stamped with the maker's details 'Ms, Honorables, Exp. Paris, Londres'. Complete with an oval mahogany base and glass dome.
These small skeleton clocks were first produced in the 1840's but came to prominence during the Great Exhibition of 1851 when the clockmaker Victor-Athanase Pierret showed them. They came in a couple of different guises, engraved and unengraved and with or without alarm. A couple of examples of this style signed by Honorables are pictured and discussed in 'Continental & American Skeleton Clocks' by Derek Roberts, page 102.
Height: 8¾ (including base and dome)
Price: £1,450.00