Dreweatts 1759
Lot 397
An extremely rare hour-striking night-and-day spring table clock The movement attributed to the workshop of Joseph Knibb, London, circa 1675 and later The eight fully latched tulip baluster turned twin fusee movement with gable-shaped plates measuring 7.25 by 8.125 inches applied with slide-on dust cover to upper edges, the going train with verge escapement regulated by short bob pendulum driving motionwork for both traditional two-handed twelve-hour notation and revolving night hour disc set on a pivot at the apex of the plates, the strike train with outside countwheel and sounding on a bell set behind a circular aperture in the frontplate between the mainspring barrels, now with 10.75 by 8 inch rectangular matted brass dial applied with narrow silvered Roman numeral chapter ring with stylised trident half hour markers and Arabic five minutes within the outer minute track, with pierced and sculpted blued steel hands, the upper section with pierced arched sector to reveal the revolving chapter hour disc painted with gilt stars on a deep blue and ground incorporating two smaller revolving discs each pierced with Arabic hour numerals visible through circular apertures cut within the outer concentric band, the upper margin applied with arched silvered plate pierced with Roman numerals I, II and III for the quarters around a scalloped inner edge with each division denoting the minutes, the margins of the sector aperture and the edge of the dial plate with precise line-scribed polished borders, the purpose made ebonised case with moulded box upstand enclosing tin chimney with flue exiting at the rear over simple moulded cornice and rectangular glazed door incorporating small lozenge pierced sound fret to lower rail and enclosing mask around the dial incorporating strike/silent lever at nine o clock, the sides with rectangular windows set within the lower half beneath aperture for slide-out lamp carrier to right hand side only, the rear with plain rectangular door, on cavetto moulded base incorporating key drawer to right hand side and bun feet, 41.5cm (16.25ins) high. Provenance: From the estate of Michael Hurst. Details in the construction of the current lot, in particular the baluster tulip turned pillars latched to the frontplate, relatively thin/delicate plates and use of the twin-disc system for the night dial would indicate that the movement was made in the workshop of Joseph Knibb. Indeed the general feel of the movement can be compared to that of a contemporary architectural table clock by Knibb illustrated in Garnier, Richard and Carter, Jonathan The Golden Age of English Horology, Masterpieces form The Tom Scott COLLECTION on page 337 and 348-49. Joseph Knibb was born the fifth son of Thomas Knibb of Claydon, Oxfordshire in 1640. He is generally thought to have been apprenticed in around 1655 to his cousin Samuel Knibb in Newport Pagnell, before moving to Oxford circa 1662 (the same year that Samuel moved to London). Joseph initially struggled to trade in Oxford due to restrictions placed by the City authorities which were only relaxed on payment of a fine in 1668. It was about at this time that Joseph Knibb would have issued his copper trade tokens (an example of which was sold in these rooms 10th February 2009, lot 104 for £1,600 hammer) as well looking to undertake work to convert the turret clocks of St. Mary the Virgin and Wadham College to anchor escapement with long pendulum. In 1670 Joseph moved to London handing over the Oxford business to his younger brother, John. The reason for this move was probably to administer the estate of Samuel who is thought to have died by the summer of 1671. Joseph Knibb presumably took on Samuel's former workshop as by 1675 he was recorded as working from 'The Dyal' near Sargeants Inn in Fleet Street. By 1693 he had moved to 'The Clock Dyal' Suffolk Street, near Charing Cross. As Joseph became established in London his work became more individual/distinctive, often demonstrating an inventive and refined approach both in the detailing and specification of the movements and choice of case design. He is perhaps best known for his experimentation with alternative striking such as Dutch, Roman and double-six grande sonnerie as well as long duration clocks. In 1697 Joseph Knibb sold up the London business (presumably to Samual Aldworth, former apprentice of John Knibb of Oxford) and retired to Hanslop in Buckinghamshire where he died in December 1711. Currently there are four documented spring night clocks by Joseph Knibb, one was sold in these rooms on Tuesday 15th September 2015 (lot 197) with the other three being illustrated in Lee, Ronald A. The Knibb Family * Clockmakers pages 151-3. All of these examples are timepieces only and utilise the same ingenious system to indicate the time: The hour numeral traverses the 180 degree arched aperture in the dial plate past minute divisions denoted by small scallops cut into the upper edge and the quarters by large pierced Roman numerals above. This is enabled by having the Arabic hour numerals pierced in two secondary discs applied to the rear of the principal hour disc. As the hour disc revolves (once every two hours) these secondary discs are alternately advanced in one numeral increments via pins to the rear of each engaging with a flag attached to the lower part of the movement frontplate. This system ensures that the next hour appears to the left of the dial as the last disappears to the right (hence requires one of the secondary discs to be pierced with the odd hour-numerals and the other the even). This mechanism can also be seen on a longcase night clock, dating to around 1669, attributed to the Fromanteel workshop which is illustrated and described in Darken, Jeff (ed.) HOROLOGICAL MASTERWORKS pages 90-93. The existence of this slightly earlier clock suggests that this system was possibly developed by the Fromanteels prior to Joseph's arrival in London in 1671. In addition to this twin disc system English makers also utilised two differing mechanisms to denote the hours at night. The first, which seems to be preferred for use in longcase night clocks, is very similar to the twin disc system but substitutes the secondary discs for a linked chain of pierced numeral tabs which are driven by a ten-sided sprocket wheel (an explanation of this system is provided in Robinson, Tom THE LONGCASE CLOCK on page 154). The second alternative system can be seen on three hour-striking night-and-day clocks of the East School including an example by John Hilderson described in Dawson, Percy G., Drover, C.B. and Parkes, D.W. Early English Clocks pages 513-5 (plates 759-63).
