Bonhams celebrates the 350 th anniversary of pendulum clocks

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

The clock department of Bonhams said that this auction house sells more clocks than any other one in the world. It is undoubtedly true, as I have not spotted who else is capable of arranging whole sales on the single theme of clocks and barometers.

The next sale is in London on December 9 and includes 150 lots.

The press release is celebrating the 350 th anniversary of clocks with pendulum.

Lot 145 of the sale can be dated precisely in the first four years of production in England of this instrument that would become one of the most successful of our civilization. It is a table clock mounted on a base, and inserted in a cubic box topped by a triangular fronton. As such it can not be distinguished from later models of the seventeenth century.

But it is signed by James Cowpe, and located in ffox Hall in South London. Note that the ff lowercase at the beginning of this word is not a spelling mistake, contrary to what Bonhams seems to believe, but a usual feature in Welsh language. Cowpe stopped his English business in 1662, probably to continue his career in the France of Louis XIV.

It is therefore certain that the instrument has escaped the Great Fire of London in 1666. Carried away by his enthusiasm for that lot, Bonhams is not clear on its price: 25 K £ in the press release, 15 K £ in catalog.

I enjoy coming on the site of Bonhams, which often gives many details in its press releases on some interesting lots that are not always the most expensive of its sales.

[Pierre Tavlitzki]

To the delight of the auction house, the press release was right. Result: 26 K £ before fees.