Catalogue - Antique Clocks and Barometers

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ROBERT WOOD, LONDON
rare automaton bracket clock by this well known George III period
clockmaker. The elegant mahogany case has a bell top and gilt floral
mounts to the sides with brass foliate ogee bracket feet. The arched door is
bound with a brass moulding, and there are well cast brass sound frets to the
front. The whole case has richly figured mahogany veneers.
The 8-Day double fusee verge movement strikes the hours on a single bell.
The arched dial has a matted brass centre, gilt foliate corner spandrels,
inset datework and the maker’s signature on an inset disc below XII. Above
XII there is a strike/silent lever. The whole backplate is most beautifully
engraved with flowers and foliage which are repeated on the fixing brackets
and the cocks.
The pièce de resistance is the beautifully painted arch with its moving
automata. In the centre there is a shepherd with his sheep and a red
coated figure with his hat attempting to catch a bird that retreats into the
trees. When the clock strikes the hours, the miller and his wife disappear
from view in order to grind the corn as the sails of the windmill rotate.
They reappear after grinding the corn when the sails cease turning.
Date: circa 1770–1775
Height: 19½ in (49 cm) Depth: 8¼ in (21 cm) Width: 12½ in (32 cm)
* Robert Wood was active in London in the last third of the 18th century and he
made a number of fine musical and automaton clocks.
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