98th Auction
2018/11/10
Lot 259
Unknown French Master / Johann Kuhlmann, Osnabrück , 56 x 66 x 31 mm, 183 g, circa 1575 / circa 1690
An astronomical pocket watch in the octagonal Renaissance-style case of an early pendant watch
Case: bronze, firegilt, pierced. Dial: silver, champlevé, radial Roman hours, outer date ring, central lunar calendar and aperture for moon phase with engraved moon phase disc, single hand made of blued steel. Movm.: full plate brass movement, applied floral decorations, chain/fusee, verge escapement, tulip pillars, three-arm steel balance, fine florally engraved, pierced balance cock.
The open-work front cover is decorated with gothic-style finial ornamentation and a central Christogram "IHS". Both front and back bezel are engraved with floral scrolls. The band is also open-work in baluster form, which implies that the original movement had a striking mechanism.
Early Renaissance-style cases were usually perfectly finished by skilled craftsmen; these pieces were not only highly valued at the time but also generally admired as works of art in the centuries that followed. This watch case is a perfect example of such a treasure - it was recognised as such in the second half of the 17th century and fitted with a contemporary movement by Johann Kuhlmann of Osnabrück.
Provenance:
- Collection Au Vieux Cadran, Paris
- Sold at an auction at Parke Bernet, New York, 03/15/1968, lot no. 10
- Albert Odmark Collection, Seattle
- Sold at an auction at Christie's, London, "The Albert Odmark Collection of important clocks and watches", March 2005
- Distinguished private collection in Vienna
Lit.: This watch is illustrated and described in Samuel Guye & Henri Michel, "Mesures du temps et de l'espace", Fribourg 1970 and in "Uhren- und Messinstrumente", Zurich 1971, p. 68, 72.
An astronomical pocket watch in the octagonal Renaissance-style case of an early pendant watch
Case: bronze, firegilt, pierced. Dial: silver, champlevé, radial Roman hours, outer date ring, central lunar calendar and aperture for moon phase with engraved moon phase disc, single hand made of blued steel. Movm.: full plate brass movement, applied floral decorations, chain/fusee, verge escapement, tulip pillars, three-arm steel balance, fine florally engraved, pierced balance cock.
The open-work front cover is decorated with gothic-style finial ornamentation and a central Christogram "IHS". Both front and back bezel are engraved with floral scrolls. The band is also open-work in baluster form, which implies that the original movement had a striking mechanism.
Early Renaissance-style cases were usually perfectly finished by skilled craftsmen; these pieces were not only highly valued at the time but also generally admired as works of art in the centuries that followed. This watch case is a perfect example of such a treasure - it was recognised as such in the second half of the 17th century and fitted with a contemporary movement by Johann Kuhlmann of Osnabrück.
Provenance:
- Collection Au Vieux Cadran, Paris
- Sold at an auction at Parke Bernet, New York, 03/15/1968, lot no. 10
- Albert Odmark Collection, Seattle
- Sold at an auction at Christie's, London, "The Albert Odmark Collection of important clocks and watches", March 2005
- Distinguished private collection in Vienna
Lit.: This watch is illustrated and described in Samuel Guye & Henri Michel, "Mesures du temps et de l'espace", Fribourg 1970 and in "Uhren- und Messinstrumente", Zurich 1971, p. 68, 72.
estimated
10.000—15.000 €
Price realized
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