206 - Rare bone clock (probably from a bovine or sheep) (Havers’ system observed) consisting of an openwork back panel framed by two armed and helmeted guards, surmounted by an arched pediment, the whole resting on an openwork, scalloped base supported by four ball feet. Enameled dial with Roman numerals, watch movement with cock signed François Joly in Paris (movement requires servicing).

Rare bone clock (probably from a bovine or sheep) (Havers’ system observed) consisting of an openwork back panel framed by two armed and helmeted guards, surmounted by an arched pediment, the whole resting on an openwork, scalloped base supported by four ball feet. Enameled dial with Roman numerals, watch movement with cock signed François Joly in Paris (movement requires servicing). One of the guards is missing a spear Work by French prisoners in England, first quarter of the 19th century H 30, W 18, D 8 cm Total gross weight: 809 g Comparable examples from public auctions: - London, Sotheby’s, June 9, 2017, lot 227, for a similar clock. - Nantucket Auction, August 3, 2013, lot 344, for a similar example Comparative examples held in public collections: - New York, Metropolitan Museum, (62.18.1) for a clock of a very similar model - Peterborough Museum, (PETMG:E127), (PETMG:E209), (PETMG:E169), (PETMG:E226), (PETMG:E255) for very similar examples from Norman Cross Between 1803 and 1814, Great Britain held nearly 130,000 French prisoners, distributed among pontoon camps and land-based detention centers, notably Norman Cross (the first dedicated camp, opened in 1797) and Dartmoor (operational as of 1809). This captivity gave rise to a unique form of tablet-making: beef or sheep bones from the prisoners’ rations, boiled and then softened in wet clay, were transformed—without blueprints or professional tools—into objects of remarkable diversity and finesse. Sales took place at an “outdoor market” held in the immediate vicinity of the camps, under the supervision of the guards. A contemporary witness, the British officer Ambrose Serle, noted as early as 1810 that the best artisans could “earn, and take with them upon their release, more than one hundred guineas each.” Long relegated to the status of curiosities, these pieces now constitute a distinct category of collectibles in their own right, supported by a body of reference literature, notably the works of Clive Lloyd. Crafted without freedom or materials worthy of the name (hence the use of a watch movement for the mechanism), these pieces demonstrate a precision that is all the more remarkable given the very conditions under which they were created. EXPERT: Mr. Pierre Grignon Dumoulin, court-appointed expert at the Amiens Court of Appeals ARTEMIS ESTIMATIONS Appraisal Firm, 6 rue Ancel 60200 Compiègne - 06 09 83 33 29 - www.artemisestimations.com