98th Auction
2018/11/10
Lot 276
Master's Mark "DH" (David Haisermann, Augsburg), Height 215 mm, circa 1610
A figure clock with hour strike of museum quality, "Virgin Mary with Mandorla" - a rare example of a late, so-called "cercles tournants" clock
Case: bronze, firegilt, chased, moulded ebony base with sound holes and grille, rear bell. Dial: silvered crown with revolving circlet and engraved Arabic enamel hours. Movm.: rectangular full-plate brass movement, firegilt, monogrammed, 2 barrels for clock and strike, 1 hammer with engraved lion head, locking plate with internal gear, verge escapement, hog’s bristle, two-arm blued steel balance without balance spring.
The exquisitely engraved bronze figure of the Madonna sits on a rectangular ebony base with inwardly curved feet and delicate grilles that are decorated with flowers and birds covering the sound holes. She carries baby Jesus in her right arm and is surrounded by a mandorla of flames. The Madonna wears a crown with a revolving circlet with the hours engraved. Time is indicated through a scepter in the hand of the child.
Jürgen Abeler‘s "Meister der Uhrmacherkunst" (masters of clockmaking) states that David Haisermann was a maker in Augsburg born around 1580. In 1609 he is listed as independent clockmaker. Haisermann created many figure clocks with religious motifs, which are now all owned by distinguished museums and private collections. David Haisermann died in 1612.
Provenance:
- Strassburg, private collection
- Sold at an auction at Christie's, London, July 2003
- Distinguished private collection in Vienna
This clock is illustrated and described in Klaus Maurice, "Die deutsche Räderuhr", Vol. II, Munich 1976, p. 57 and Fig. 398; in Klassik Uhren, "Wer hat an der Uhr gedreht - Cercles Tournants", Birgit Kremer, Edition 1/2011, Munich 2011, p. 12ff
A figure clock with hour strike of museum quality, "Virgin Mary with Mandorla" - a rare example of a late, so-called "cercles tournants" clock
Case: bronze, firegilt, chased, moulded ebony base with sound holes and grille, rear bell. Dial: silvered crown with revolving circlet and engraved Arabic enamel hours. Movm.: rectangular full-plate brass movement, firegilt, monogrammed, 2 barrels for clock and strike, 1 hammer with engraved lion head, locking plate with internal gear, verge escapement, hog’s bristle, two-arm blued steel balance without balance spring.
The exquisitely engraved bronze figure of the Madonna sits on a rectangular ebony base with inwardly curved feet and delicate grilles that are decorated with flowers and birds covering the sound holes. She carries baby Jesus in her right arm and is surrounded by a mandorla of flames. The Madonna wears a crown with a revolving circlet with the hours engraved. Time is indicated through a scepter in the hand of the child.
Jürgen Abeler‘s "Meister der Uhrmacherkunst" (masters of clockmaking) states that David Haisermann was a maker in Augsburg born around 1580. In 1609 he is listed as independent clockmaker. Haisermann created many figure clocks with religious motifs, which are now all owned by distinguished museums and private collections. David Haisermann died in 1612.
Provenance:
- Strassburg, private collection
- Sold at an auction at Christie's, London, July 2003
- Distinguished private collection in Vienna
This clock is illustrated and described in Klaus Maurice, "Die deutsche Räderuhr", Vol. II, Munich 1976, p. 57 and Fig. 398; in Klassik Uhren, "Wer hat an der Uhr gedreht - Cercles Tournants", Birgit Kremer, Edition 1/2011, Munich 2011, p. 12ff
Sold
estimated
13.000—20.000 €
Price realized
19.900 €