Movement.
The one-day movement has a going train with an anchor escapement. The rack striking train strikes the hours and half hours on two bells; this is also known as the Dutch striking mechanism. The movement also includes an alarm mechanism.
Dial.
The polychromed dial displays the hours in Roman numerals and the minutes in Arabic numerals. Above the numeral VI is a weekday display. The date display is located beneath the numeral XII. Below the numeral ring is a mechanism within a frame fashioned to resemble drawn stage curtains, which presents five floating ships. This mechanism is driven by the pendulum.
Case.
The “tail” of the cabinet, in which the pendulum is located, is accessible by means of a removable sliding panel. Above the dial, which is accessible via a glazed door, is the so-called Amsterdam bonnet, which is decorated with carvings. The clock is crowned with three spinning tops of gilt wood.
Among the various types of so-called tail clocks, this eighteenth-century short-tail, featuring a double striking train as well as a ship mechanism at the bottom, a moon and date indication and an Amsterdam bonnet, represents one of the very rarest.
Provenance:
F. van Kollenburg Antieke Klokken, Oirschot, 1987
Private collection, Belgium
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