Dutch The Hague table clock, Matthijs van Leeuwaerden

Movement
The movement united by four turned pillars, the single spring barrel with tandem winding to power both going- and striking-trains; the former with silk suspension set between cycloidal cheeks with light pendulum and turned bob, the latter with elaborately pierced and engraved countwheel numbered 1-12 sounding a single blow at quarter-past, the full hour at the half-past on a deep bell mounted below the movement, a single blow at quarter-to the hour, and the full hour on the hour on the bell mounted on top of the case behind the pediment. The alarm train set inside the top right hand corner of the case and wound through the side.

Dial
The 8 inch rectangular velvet covered dial hinged to the left and set to the top corners with a pair of silver spandrels of cherubs in flight representing day and night, the lower corners set with figures, one with an owl and crescent, the other with a lamp flanking a silver cartouche nameplate, hinged so as to offer access to impulse the pendulum, the silver Roman chapter ring with every minute engraved around the outer edge with fine pierced hand and alarm setting disc. Beneath the numeral VI is a small shield bearing the signature: M Van Leeuwaerden Haerlem.

Case
The case has an ebony veneer, rests upon four ball feet and has a windowed door on the front side. The window has a profiled ebony edge and is flanked by two columns. With the door opened, the clock’s front, on which the movement is mounted, can be swung forwards using a metal slide affixed to the ground plate, level with the numeral III. The clock’s sides each feature a rectangular window with a profiled ebony frame. The arc-shaped interrupted pediment is embellished with a profiled edge. Two suspension eyes have been affixed to the rear of the clock, allowing the clock to be mounted on the wall. The interior rear side of the clock has been decorated with a parquetry eight-pointed star, a common ornament in clocks from The Hague.

Matthijs van Leeuwaerden was the, probably younger, brother of J.J. van Leeuwaerden, and the son of Jacob van Leeuwaerden, clockmaker in Haarlem. He was registered with Saint Luke’s gild in 1677, and worked in Haarlem until his death in 1691.

Literature:
Enrico Morpurgo, Nederlandse klokkenmakers en horlogemakers vanaf 1300, 1970, p. 78

Origin and period

Private collection, Amsterdam