97th Auction

2018/5/12

Lot 386

Ellicot, London / Martinot à Paris, Case No. 210, Height 120 mm, dated 4/(17)95
An unusual, small officer's carriage clock with half hour / hour self strike and alarm
Case: brass, gilt, oblong case, four bun feet, top part with 2 hammers and 1 bell. Dial: enamel, central silver alarm disc. Movm.: rectangular brass full plate movement for striking and alarm with integrated Oignon pocket watch movement, signed "Martinot à Paris", chain/fusee for going train, barrel for alarm mechanism, finely blued steel rack strike levers applied on the back side, verge escapement, steel balance, florally pierced balance bridge.
A truly striking timepiece with an unusual design that represents superior skills and experience. The clock is powered by a high quality clock-work mechanism (approximately 100 years older than the clock itself) by Balthasar Martinot, which was integrated into a rectangular brass movement with strike and alarm. A sustainable solution, particularly so because Balthasar Martinot is one of the true masters of clockmaking. We know of no other clock like it.
Edward Ellicott II
A grandson of John Ellicot, from the Ellicott watchmaking dynasty, was admitted to the Clockmakers Company in 1795 and died in 1835.
Balthasar Martinot
Balthazar Martinot II can be considered the most famous of a large family of clock- and watchmakers. The eldest son of Balthazar Martinot I and his wife Catherine Hubert was born in Rouen in 1636 and died at Saint-Germain-en-Laye in 1714. Martinot was established in Paris before 1683; he inherited the title of Watchmaker to Queen Anne of Austria upon the death of bis father-inlaw, Pierre Belon in 1665 and was later appointed watchmaker to the royal council. An inventory of 1700 revealed that he held the largest stock of clocks in Paris, while five years previously he had organized a significant lottery at court in association with his colleague, Nicholas Gribelin. Martinot was patronized by the most important members of society including Louis XIV, the Dauphin, and many of the wealthy amongst the aristocracy. The watches and clocks of Martinot are now installed in some of the world’s finest collections including the Musée du Louvre, Musée de Cluny and the Musée de Pau and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.
Source: Tardy, "Dictionnaire des Horlogers Francais", Paris 1972, pages 442ff.

estimated
5.5008.000 €
Price realized
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