Lot 254

"HS", German, 88 mm, 541 g, circa 1580
A fragment of a coach clock with hour self strike and later polychrome enamel dial
Case: bronze, firegilt, open-worked back side decorated with chased foliate scrolls, rear bell. Dial: enamel. Movm.: full plate movement, 2 opened barrels, iron train, verge escapement, 1 hammer, three-arm brass balance.
In the centre of the striking enamel dial sits a round cartouche with a banner: "Aufschub einer guten That, Hat schon oft gereut. Hurtig leben ist mein Rath, flüchtig ist die Zeit" (Postponing good deeds is often regretted. Make haste because time is fleeting). Below the banner is Chronos with scythe and hourglass and Mercury at his side; the messenger of the gods is wearing his winged hat and carries his staff. Both gods are resting on a cloud above Europe in the form of a truncated globe.
The banner takes its wording from a song by Johann Wilhelm Ludwig Gleim (1719-1803), poet, patron of literature and collector, commonly associated with the Enlightenment movement; Gleim was also the creator of the "Temple of Friendship", a meeting point of poets and intellectuals.

Sold