18th century bracket clock by Tompion apprentice
- Height:
- 41cm
- Maker:
- Daniel Delander
- Price:
- £22,500
A RELATIVELY SMALL EARLY 18TH CENTURY BRACKET CLOCK BY A TOMPION APPRENTICE.
A Lovely Early 18th Century English Spring Clock by Daniel Delander, circa 1720.
This exquisite spring-driven table clock, signed on both the dial and the backplate Dan Delander London is a most attractive and elegant clock, to be expected from a Tompion apprentice.
The beautifully proportioned ebony-veneered and ebonised case features a shallow inverted bell top surmounted by a bold and beautifully shaped gilt brass handle. The austere case has red silk-backed sound frets in the top corners of both the front and the backdoor, as well as arched rectangular glazed panels on the sides to reveal the movement. It rests on shaped block feet.
The fine 6-inch gilt brass arched dial has a matted centre and an applied silvered chapter ring. The chapter ring is meticulously engraved with Roman hour numerals, half-hour, quarter hour, 7½-minute markers, Arabic five-minute numerals as well as minute divisions. There is a prominent date ring in the arch, whilst in the top corners there are subsidiary rings: strike/silent (left) and rise and fall regulation (right). Below the XII is a false pendulum aperture with an engraved background placque. The remaining spaces are embellished by intricate gilt-brass spandrels, the ones flanking the date ring in the shape of sitting cherubs.
The time is indicated by a fine pair of elegant finely pierced blued steel hands. The maker’s signature Dan Delander LONDON is engraved prominently on a shaped rectangular burnished field above the VI.
The eight-day twin chain-fusee movement, constructed between plates, shows the clockmaker’s craftmanship. It features a pivoted verge escapement with a short pendulum, which can be regulated from the front. The striking mechanism is regulated by an external rack, chiming the hours fully on a bell. Additionally, the movement has its original pull-quarter repeat on six bells, a sophisticated feature of clocks from this period. The backplate is profusely engraved with scroll motifs, birds, a vase with flowers and a cartouche bearing the maker’s name, Dan Delander London.
Height: 41cm (16in)
The maker: Daniel Delander was born in around 1678 and was apprenticed in 1692 to Charles Halstead. However, by 1693 he was transferred to Thomas Tompion and was Free of the Clockmakers’ Company in 1699. He continued working as a journeyman for Thomas Tompion and in 1704 set himself up in Deveraux Court. In 1712, a year before Tompion’s death, Delander moved to Temple Bar, Fleet Street. A fine maker, he produced many bracket clocks, longcase clocks, watches as well as barometers. He died in 1733.
Interested in this clock?
Send an email or leave a message and find out if it is still available!