232 - Anonymous - Cercles Tournants

Anonymous - Cercles Tournants An important Augsburg or Nuremberg Renaissance clock in the shape of a vase with hour strike and stackfreed - a rare example of a type of clock that was later called "cercles tournants" Dimensions 340 mm, circa 1580, Origin Süddeutschland Case: Firegilt bronze and silver, elaborately engraved and chased, partly openwork, bell. Dial: Ball with chapter ring. Movm.: Round firegilt brass full plate movement, florally engraved barrel for striking train, iron train, 1 hammer, locking plate with internal teeth and control dial for strike, verge escapement, stackfreed, foliot, hogs bristle regulator. The fire-gilded and chased clock case consists of two parts and rests on a round base. It is richly decorated with volutes and acanthus leaves. The two lateral volute bows with small finials exemplify the transitional style from the Renaissance to the Baroque. A large resonating bell is located in the lower part of the case, while the movement, which extends into the bell, is housed in the upper part. The movement features a verge escapement with a fixed mainspring barrel for the striking mechanism, as well as a stackfreed and a balance wheel. It is also equipped with a bristle regulator with an adjustable scale. The wheels are made of iron, and the plates and pillars are crafted from fire-gilded brass. A shaft extends upwards from the hour wheel to a globe divided into a day and a night side. The day half is gilded, and the night half is silvered. Roman numerals are engraved on both hour halfs. A small putto, lying on a skull, points the hours with his staff. At the top of the clock is the figure of Judith with the severed head of Holofernes. The present vase clock was part of the renowned collection of Dr. Bodong of Frankfurt. After his death, it was auctioned on June 14 and 15, 1938, at Hans W. Lange's auction house in Berlin as lot number 537. Clocks in the form of vases are among the rarest examples of late Renaissance horology; a reliable total number is unknown. Presumably, only a few individual pieces have survived, mostly from southern German centers such as Augsburg or Nuremberg. Today, they are predominantly found in museum and formerly princely collections. To encounter a piece of this kind on the open market is an exceptional stroke of luck. An early vase clock with hourly strike and a movement bearing the hallmark "CR" in a shield is located in the Kirschgarten Museum in Basel. Another vase clock with hourly and half-hourly strikes on a case bell and signed "Stefen Bat Foit von Clausemborg aus Siebenbirgen 1600" was auctioned at Ineichen in Zurich in 1998. Another vase clock with hourly striking from Augsburg, which originated around 1600 and bears the hallmark "CK" (presumably Konrad Kreitzer), is located in the Württemberg State Museum Stuttgart. Around 1600, vase-shaped clocks were part of the repertoire of clockmakers. While most examples featured a classic round dial and hands, Augsburg clockmakers in particular developed a special variant of this type: Instead of the conventional dial, a rotating time display was introduced, a feature that would later become known as a "Cercles Tournants." The design of the time display is characteristic. Unlike clocks of later centuries, where the dial band wraps directly around the vase's body, here -as with figural clocks- a sphere with a surrounding dial displays the time. It rests on the lip of the upper part of the case and is connected to the body by elaborately decorated handles. The dial sphere is encircled by an ornamental band, upon which a figure or animal is crowned. All known examples can be traced to Nuremberg and Augsburg, or to southern Germany, and are dated to around 1600. With their combination of technical sophistication, unusual design, and figurative ornamentation, they impressively illustrate the experimental spirit of early modern horology. They unite the highest level of craftsmanship with the aesthetic sensibility of an era when timepieces were still objects of art and expressions of princely representation. This vase clock is aimed at collectors seeking something special: a rare, museum-quality object of historical significance that unites craftsmanship, science, and the beauty of the Renaissance. Case: very good, slightly rubbed. Dial: very good. Movm.: very good, scratched, repaired, capable of running, cleaning recommended.