Regency brass skeleton timepiece to the design of Sir William Congreve
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
First quarter 19th Century
This Regency brass skeleton timepiece is built to the design of Sir William Congreve with an extreme detached escapement, dating to the first quarter of the 19th century.
The clock features three architectural pedimented plates creating two sections connected by double-tapered columns. The front displays a silvered dial frame inscribed with an attribution to Congreve, supporting three chapter rings for hours, minutes, and seconds. The source reports an inverted chain fusee, high-count wheel train with six crossings, maintaining power, a wide-diameter escape wheel behind the seconds ring, and a pendulum suspended from a double knife edge.
The clock is mounted on a stepped giltwood plinth with brass ball feet beneath a later brass-bound glass cover.
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
- Skeleton clock
- Height
- 21¼ in. (54 cm.) high, over cover
- Place recorded
- United Kingdom
- Movement plates
- Three architectural plates forming two sections
- Dial inscription
- Invented by W.m Congreve Esq.r
- Plinth and cover
- Stepped giltwood plinth under later brass-bound glass cover
- Escapement design
- Extreme detached escapement
- Maker / attribution
- Sir William Congreve (designer)
Design
- Visible features
- • Three silvered, overlapping circular chapter rings stacked vertically with Roman and Arabic numerals. • Brass architectural framework with triangular pediment cresting and tiered horizontal cross-members. • Housed under a rectangular brass-edged glass case resting on a stepped gilt rectangular base with spherical brass feet. • Engraved script visible along the lower border of the front silvered plate frame.
- Case, Dimensions, and Provenance
- The timepiece stands 21¼ inches (54 cm) high over its cover and is raised on a stepped giltwood plinth fitted with spherical brass ball feet. The enclosing brass-bound glass cover is catalogued as a later addition. Auction documentation records that the clock previously belonged to The Time Museum collection (inventory no. 1144) and was sold at Sotheby's New York on 19 June 2002 as lot 193. While catalogued to the first quarter of the 19th century following Congreve's invention, the specific clockmaker who constructed the movement is not identified in the source documentation.
- Reported Movement and Escapement
- The movement is catalogued with an inverted chain fusee, maintaining power, and a high-count wheel train featuring wheels with six crossings. It incorporates Sir William Congreve's patented 'extreme detached escapement' design (Patent 3164 of 1808), positioning a wide-diameter escape wheel directly behind the seconds ring. Under this reported escapement mechanism, the pendulum operates under its own momentum to drive a countwheel that releases the train each minute to impulse the pendulum. The pendulum is catalogued as suspended from a double knife edge, though internal wheel counts and suspension components are not directly verifiable from the front exterior view.
- Architectural Framework and Dial Configuration
- The skeleton timepiece is built with three architectural brass plates forming two sections, each joined by four double-tapered columns. The front presentation incorporates an engraved silvered dial frame with a triangular pediment cresting, inscribed along the lower border 'Invented by W.m Congreve Esq.r'. Indications are displayed across three silvered chapter rings arranged for hours, minutes, and seconds. The hour and minute chapter rings are fitted with pierced brass hands, while the seconds ring features a blued steel hand.
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 glass case is catalogued as a later replacement.
- Research required: Internal escapement components, wheel train count, and knife-edge suspension cannot be independently confirmed from the front view photograph.