235 - "DS" - Vienna Table Clock

"DS" - Vienna Table Clock A high-quality and rare Viennese table clock with a square case and hour strike Dimensions: 80 x 115 x 115 mm, circa 1632, Origin: Austria Case: Fire-gilt brass case, smooth sides, four bun feet, rear bell. Dial: Brass, fire-gilt, applied silver chapter ring with radial Roman hour markers, central engraved sunray ornament. Movement: Square brass movement, screwed-on decorations, chain/fusee, 1 hammer, locking plate, hog’s bristle, applied blued iron clickwork, verge escapement, two-arm iron rim foliot without balance spring, florally engraved, pierced balance cock. This beautifully crafted Viennese table clock features a case stripped down to the bare essentials in terms of decoration. The only visible ornamentation consists of the winged cherub heads placed in the spandrels of the dial facing the display side. At the center of the dial sits a disc engraved with a radiating sunburst motif. A long central, blued hand indicates the minutes, while a shorter brass hand shows the hours. The square movement bears the inscription “Wyen” beneath the balance wheel and is signed with the monogram “DS” inside a shield. Above it appears the date 1632. A horizontal table clock is a portable, flat timepiece from the Renaissance and Baroque periods (16th to 17th centuries), with its dial positioned horizontally on the upper surface and intended to be read from above. They were generally round, square, hexagonal, or octagonal cases made of gilded brass or bronze, often richly decorated and engraved. The dial was set horizontally into the top plate, often featuring just a single hour hand. This design was made possible by the invention of the mainspring and the fusee mechanism in the 16th century, allowing clocks to operate independently of pendulums and gravity in any position. Many examples were designed as astronomical clocks or alarm clocks and, in addition to the time, displayed the date, the phases of the Moon, or the position of the Sun. They were intended less as practical everyday objects than as precious works of art, status symbols, and collector’s items for princely courts. Case: very good, slightly rubbed. Dial: very good, slightly rubbed. Movement: very good, in working order, cleaning recommended.