90th Auction

2014/11/15

Lot 417

English, 420 x 330 x 320 mm, circa 1970
A spring driven rolling ball clock from a small series made to Congreve's basic design. It has separate dials for minutes, hours and seconds, the latter marked 0-30 and 30-60 to coincide with the 30 seconds table. Apertures at the end of each straight run show the seconds; switch-levers on each end of the see-saw keep the ball running. With original key and cuboid glass dome.
Case: rectangular mahogany base on four adjustable disc feet, prismatic movement construction on four adjustable ball feet; brass frame, gilt, polished, zig-zag milled see-saw for rolling ball. Dial: three enamel chapter rings for the indications of the hours (left), minutes (centre) and seconds (right), blued steel hands. Movm.: chain/fusee, Congreve's patented escapement.
A nearly identical clock is illustrated and described in: Derek Roberts: "Mystery, novelty, and fantasy clocks", 1999, Schiffer Publishing Ltd., page 68ff.

Sold

estimated
2.2002.700 €
Price realized
1.300 €