Description
Brighton Pavilion Skeleton Clock
J. Smith & Sons
Circa 1890
Taking the form of the decadent Brighton Pavilion, this Victorian brass skeleton clock is a wonderful example of exceptional English clockmaking. Crafted by the famed J. Smith & Sons of Clerkenwell, the timepiece operates thanks to its complex 8-day, two-train fusée movement, which allows it to strike on the hour and half hour. It indicates the time on an elaborately pierced dial with black Roman numerals, while its complicated skeletonized movement can be glimpsed through the rear. The shape itself resembles the dome of the famed Brighton Pavilion, the former royal residence located in Brighton, England. Set upon a red velvet plinth beneath its custom glass dome, this magnificent clock represents the perfect marriage of artistry and horology.
Skeleton clocks are among the rarest timepieces ever made and were designed to display as much of the working mechanism as possible. Many were crafted as exhibition objects to showcase a new escapement, calendar system, power train, gear design or other technological innovation. Often a clockmaker’s magnum opus, these clocks were the result of the highest quality workmanship. They became a favorite of the English in the early 19th century, when all the main centers of clock production, including London, Liverpool and Birmingham, began to make the most exceptional examples.
Similar clocks are featured on pages 72-74 of Skeleton Clocks, Britain 1800-1914 by Derek Roberts.
23″ high x 15 1/4″ wide x 9″ deep
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