Charles II lantern clock

A historically significant Charles II lantern clock with original iron rim foliot, hour strike and engraved case, made by Isaac Puzy Freeman, a Jewish clockmaker and member of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, founded in 1631, who worked in London in the mid-17th century. With the readmission of Jews to England under Oliver Cromwell in 1656, Jewish artisans became part of the English clockmaking industry and henceforth part of London’s horological history

Case: Firegilt brass, square base, elaborately engraved on all sides, upper section with bell and two hammers, later wooden console. Dial: Firegilt brass, applied, slightly domed silver hour chapter ring with Roman numerals, magnificently engraved Tudor rose in the centre, single blued iron hand. Movm.: Iron frame, iron train with weight drive via cord pulleys, verge escapement with original large iron rim foliot, punch mark "IF" in a shield.

The hinged side panels show, on the left, Saint James with pilgrim’s staff, hat, and scallop shell. Above him is a closed decorative frieze bearing the Christogram "IHS". On the right side, Saint Anne is depicted, holding the Christ Child in her arms while reaching toward her daughter Mary. Above is a closed, curved decorative frieze featuring a Marian monogram and a pierced heart crowned by an "Omega" symbol. The Omega represents God or Christ. The lower half of the front side is engraved with leaf tendrils and pomegranate blossoms and bears the signature "Isaac Fridman fecit". Two angels crown the silver hour chapter ring in the upper half. In their hands they hold a scale with a skull and a staff, and above it an eye. The uppermost section is formed by another closed, curved decorative frieze with a quartered coat of arms, crowned by a figure wearing a cap and holding a hammer. This figure appears twice within the coat of arms and is alternated with key symbols.