Lot 83

Johan Ulri(c)h Schmid in Augspurg, Height 580 mm, circa 1650
An important and extremely rare clock case of an astronomical table clock - masterpiece- manufactured exactly after the terms of the Augsburger Master's diploma rules from 1577: "A clock of the dimensions as hitherto, about a span high, which strikes the hour and the quarters. It shall also have an alarm and shall likewise show the astrolabe, the length of the days, the calendar and the planets and their signs. When the quarter hand is moved, all hands shall strike the hours both to 12 and 24, as one may select."
Case: copper and brass, firegilt, chased and engraved flower and foliage decor, wooden base. Dial: silver and polychrome Chemplevé enamel.
This astronomical masterpiece from Augsburg sits on a lightly curved base decorated with chased flowers and tendrils as well as a striking series of cartouches with staffage figures "The Prodigal Son". The walls are finely chased and ornamented with lavish floral engraving; in the four corners Tuscan three-quarter columns. The three-tiered bell tower construction is decorated abundantly with moulded balusters and vases.
Johan Ulrich Schmid was born in Augsburg around 1622. He was the son of famous clockmaker Nikolaus Schmidt the Younger (1582-1637) and is recorded as having set up his own workshop in 1648; his creations are today owned by a number of important museums such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

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