Clocktime: Ahasuerus Fromanteel’s Pendulum Box Clock c1659, 02 Design

Ahasuerus Fromanteel – Small early ebony-veneered striking verge pendulum box clock. Join Dr John C Taylor OBE from the Clocktime digital museum as he discusses the design of the Fromanteel Pendulum Box Clock. Discover more about early and antique clocks and watches... https://clocktime.co.uk/artefacts/fro... #clocktime #clocktimedigitalmuseum The dial has these wonderful floral spandrels whereas cherub spandrels were usually used. I think these are charming with the little bunch of flowers in the corner. And next to it is then the silver chapter ring with the half-hour markers, the minute ring on the outside and quarter-hour divisions on the inside. And it's a silver face onto the brass. A cost reduction if you like, not using silver right the way through. A lovely minute hand, so simple. And again the simple hour hand just blending with the matting on the dial. A beautiful matting, isn't it? Imagine how long it took to make that, keep it flat and then gild it. The top of the dial above the 12 has this lovely engraved and gilded plaque, but the plaque has been named EW many years later in 1687. And it was probably left for the original owner who never actually got round to getting his name on it. And a generation later, Ernest married Winifred and they put their initials on the clock. And matching the top engraving just below the VI is the lovely engraving of 'A. Fromanteel Londini'. Ahasuerus Fromanteel of London. These little black cases don't really make a great statement and so a lot of the other earlier clocks are in architectural cases which make them stand out whereas the little movement was what was important here. It was so early that again you could open it to show you could lift the side so you could see in and so you could show off how it worked to your friends.