A late 17th-century weight-driven wall clock by John Knibb, Oxford (now in a floor-standing case)
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
late 17th century
This lot features a late seventeenth-century weight-driven wall clock movement and dial by John Knibb of Oxford, housed in an associated miniature walnut-veneered floor-standing case.
The square brass dial measures approximately 6.5 inches (16.2 cm) across, engraved with a wheatear border framing winged cherub spandrels, a silvered chapter ring, and a matted center signed 'Iohannes Knibb Oxon Fecit'. Source documentation reports a verge escapement with a short bob pendulum suspended on a knife edge, outside solid countwheel striking on a bell mounted above, and brass plates pinned to pillars with integral waisted finials.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Technical characteristics
- Type
- Floor-standing clock
- Escapement
- Verge escapement with short bob pendulum
- Case height
- 1.77 m (5 ft 7 in)
- Place recorded
- United Kingdom
- Dial dimensions
- 6.5 inches square (16.2 cm)
- Maker's signature
- Iohannes Knibb Oxon Fecit
- Striking mechanism
- Outside solid countwheel striking on an overhead bell
- Maker / attribution
- John Knibb
Design
- Visible features
- • Slim floor-standing walnut-veneered case with barley-twist columns flanking the hood door. • Trunk door and plinth base feature inset shaped decorative veneer panels. • Square brass dial visible through the glazed hood door, showing winged cherub spandrels and a silvered Roman numeral chapter ring. • Carved frieze detail visible beneath the hood cornice.
- Dial and Inscriptions
- The clock features a square brass dial framed by an engraved wheatear border enclosing winged cherub head spandrels and a silvered chapter ring with Roman and Arabic numerals. The center is described as finely matted and carries blued steel hands. The dial is signed along the lower edge 'Iohannes Knibb Oxon Fecit'. The auction source lists conflicting measurements for the dial, stating both '6.5inch square', '16.2cms (6 3/8ths of an inch) square', and subsequently '8.3cms (3 5/16ths of an inch) square'.
- Associated Case and Labels
- The clock is housed in an associated miniature floor-standing walnut-veneered case measuring 1.77 m (5 ft 7 in) high. The case features spiral columns flanking the hood door over a long trunk door and a panel base inlaid with shaped panels. Two labels are recorded on the case assembly: an applied handwritten paper reading '1670' attached to the mask, and a label inside the trunk door reading '53', which the cataloguer speculates may be a collector's inventory number.
- Movement and Striking Train
- The dial is secured to the weight-driven movement by four horizontal lugs pinned into brass top and bottom plates, which are catalogued as keyed into the corners of brass pillars cast with integral waisted finials and collet-like feet. The going train is described as having a verge escapement and a short bob pendulum suspended on a knife edge in a bent brass back cock. The strike train features an outside solid countwheel striking on a bell mounted on a stand above, with hammer- and striking-detent arbors of circular section and a heavy solid brass fly.
Identification
- Source note
- Facts transcribed from the linked source listing or collection record. Attribution and specifications are source-reported and have not been independently authenticated.
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: The floor-standing case is catalogued as associated rather than original to the wall clock movement.
- Research required: Internal movement, escapement, and bell strike mechanism are concealed inside the case and not visible in the exterior photograph.