- Museum number
- 1958,1006.2113
- Description
-
Table clock; verge escapement with balance; striking-train for hours; alarum; dial with two chapter-rings for the twelve and twenty-four hour systems; lunar and solar calendars; gilt-metal case punched on base.
- Production date
- 1576
- Dimensions
-
Diameter: 6 inches
- $Inscriptions
-
-
- Curator's comments
- The following text is the entry for this object from the unpublished catalogue of pre-pendulum clocks by John Leopold, former Assistant Keeper of Horology at the Museum. This information is unedited and should be used accordingly.
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ROUND HORIZONTAL TABLE CLOCK, MARKED PG AND DATED 1576.
Ascribed to Peter Grundel, Kopenhagen.
Ilbert No. 335 Q: ex Gardner 10 Aug. 1929.
Bibliography.
Symonds (1947) pl.7 (gives the date 1575).
Exhib.cat. London 1958 no.2.
Cat.Ilbert (1958) no.250.
Dawson etc. (1958) 165-6.
Tait (1968) 40, pl.38-40.
Maurice (1976) fig.528.
Jagger (1977) 81.
Abeler (1977) 224.
SIGNATURE.
Marked on the inside of the base with a punchmark: monogram PG in a shield. The inside of the base also has, within the ornament, the initials "I S G" and the date "1 5 7 6".
DESCRIPTION.
Case.
The case is made of brass, gilded all over except for most of the inside of the band.
The band of the case has a cast ornament of inhabited scolled foliage in four parts, one of the parts being pierced to let out the sound of the bell. The band was cast in four pieces which were then brazed together. The ornament shows that at the divisions there should be applied ornaments to hide the joins, but the present four coats of arms are later replacements (see Commentary).
At the top the band is set in a profiled ring, bent out of strip and brazed (the brazing has subsequently split). The ring is riveted to the band and extends a little above it to form a shoulder for the dial to rest on. Its upper surface, surrounding the dial, is engraved with a barleycorn border.
The inside of the band has a single guiding ridge.
The base consists of a circular plate brazed to a profile ring (bent out of strip and brazed, with a small insert, at the join). The outside of the base is engraved with a barleycorn border which encloses a patern of concentric squares and circles ornamented with mauresques and centred by a grotesque mask. There are two winding holes, marked with a punched "G" (= Gehwerk) and "S" (= Schlagwerk). The inside of the base has similar decoration with squares and circles partly filled with mauresques; in the open areas are the punchmark, the date and the owner's initials (see above).
The base now has three screwed bun feet which are not gilded, and an ungilded revolving shutter for the winding squares (secured by a brass screw); these parts are all later. Recesses in the rim of the base, each associated with a screwhole, show that originally there were different, a-symetrical feet (see Conversions). It may be noted that the engraving of the barleycorn border follows these recesses. Extensive loss of gilding shows that for a long time the base had no feet at all.
Dial.
The dial, of brass gilded on the visible side only, is mounted on a steel dial-plate, which has three brazed feet that hook into the front plate of the movement with bajonet-fit (one latch for locking). The outer, fixed portion of the dial is a gilded brass ring pinned to the dial plate by nine feet. The ring is deeply engraved with six scales. The outer scale is divided twice I - XII with stars as half-hour marks; this scale is surrounded by 24 touch-knobs, those at XII being more prominent than the others. Within this hour-ring is one divided for quarter-hours, surrounding one divided 1 - 24 with stars as half-hour marks. These rings are all read from the steel hand (not original).
The inside of the fixed ring is engraved with the signs of the Zodiac surrounded by a degree-division with each fifth degree marked. Separating the Zodiac- scales from the hour-scales is a scale engraved with the names of the months (in Latin); 1. Aries = ca.10½ March. These inner scales are read by the pointers of the discs for sun and moon.
Within the fixed ring of the dial lies the moving disc of the sun; it has as pointer a small immage of the sun. This disc is engraved with a scale 1 - 29 with half-day marks and has in the centre a partly silvered, partly black-painted volvelle, for the lunation and the phases of the moon.
On top of the sun-disc is the moon-disc. It has a steel pointer in the shape of a half moon (replacement) to indicate the lunar date on the solar disc and a hole revealing part of the volvelle on the solar disc to show the phases of the moon. The lunar disc has a band of mauresque ornament.
On top of the lunar disc lies the small alrm-disc, with a scale divided twice I - XII centred by mauresque ornament, and with six holes to adjust it. This disc is read by the tail of the hour-hand.
Movement.
General.
Plated movement, constructed entirely of steel (except where indicated). Three turned pillars, screwed at both ends. All train wheels now run in brass bushes, except the front pivot of the greatwheel of the striking train and both wheels of the alarm train. All train wheels have three crossings, except for all the great wheels and the scapewheel of the alarm, which are solid.
Movement and dial slide into the case from the top and are secured by two
latches, which are not original. Only the one that locks over the end of the guiding ridge replaces an earlier latch; the other one, which locks into a slot cut into the inside of the band, is a addition.
Going train.
Traincount:
84 ┐
── │ 14 ║ 54 48 45
unlocking strike ← 14 │ ── ║ ── ── ── 23 (x 2)
├ 84 ║ 6 6 6
8 8 8 ┘ ↓
15 ┐ ── ─ ─ 24-hours
── ├ 56 8 8
moon ← 60 │
│
2 ┘
──
sun ← 104
Barrel: brass, one cap brazed, the other snap fit. Spring and barrel later, but the arbor is original. The spring is hooked to a stud on the arbor which has been thickened by a brass sleeve, but under this the arbor retains the slanted slot for the original hooking. The outer end of the spring is hooked by a square hook into the barrel wall. Set-up ratchet 19 teeth. Conventional stopwork, secured, with its spring, by a screw.
Great wheel: split fusee, cut for gut, 6½ turns, 20 ratchet teeth for winding. Wheel made out of double thickness of steel to sink the clickwork. Brass clickspring (later). Now conventional fusee with the gut passing from barrel to fusee on the inside of the movement; this part has been converted from reversed fusee by inverting the set-up ratchet and adapting the click, the stopwork and the nose of the fusee.
Scape wheel, potence and counter potence all replaced in brass. Potence and counter-potence screwed. Hog-bristle regulator (later) with extreme positions crudely marked "F" (twice).
Pinion-of-report: steel wheel friction-tight around a brass centre.
Astronomical gearing.
The hour-wheel (84) has a long arbor which carries on the back plate a pinion of 8; this meshes with another pinion of 8 which drives a third pinion, also of 8. The third pinion drives a wheel (56) which is friction-tight on its arbor. This arbor transmits the motion back to the dial-side of the movement, where it carries a pinion of 15 (meshing with 60, for the moon) and a lantern of 2 (meshing with 104, for the sun). The pipes of moon- and sunwheel are friction-tight on the wheels. The friction-fit for the hour-wheel is in the pinion-of-report.
This part of the gearing is much repaired. Recent are: the long arbor of the hourwheel (84), the pinions of 8, and the wheel of 56 with its arbor and the pinions of 15 and 2. The restorations are correct; the gearing yields a syderial month of 28 days, and a year of 364 days. The result for the moon could have been improved by using a wheel of 59 in stead of 60: this results in a syderial moon of 27.5333 days.
It may be noted that the wheel of 56 makes a revolution in 7 days and could therefore be marked with the weekdays. The present wheel has no such division, but the original one may have had. It is interesting to note that another clock by the same maker, which has comparable astronomical gearing, does use the corresponding wheel to indicate the weekdays (see commentary).
Striking train.
Traincount:
64 ┌ 56 45 40
── │ ── ── ──
8 ┤ 7 5 5
│
8 ║ ┘
── ║
12-hour ← 78 ║
Great wheel: split arbor, 20 ratchet teeth for winding. Wheel made out of double thickness of sheet to sink clickwork.
Open cased spring, outer end hooked around a stud on the back plate, the inner end hooked over a steel stud on the arbor. Spring not blued; measurements: 18 x .4 mm.The arbor has a brass mantle, within which the slanted slot of the original hooking is still present.
2nd wheel: 8 lifting pins.
3rd wheel: excentric single cam.
4th wheel: stud near the arbor for locking.
Heavy fly.
Train marked for easy assembly, but marks now no longer apply (due to changed position of the disc).
Countwheel: ring, internally geared. The ring is secured by a gilded brass cross-piece which also keeps the pinion-of-report (brass and later) in place; one arm is shaped as a arrow and indicates the last hour struck.
Steel detend (repaired); unlocking arm with brass nag's head and brass spring. The hammer is activated by an intermediate piece.
The centre of the bell has been repaired with soft solder. The hammer strikes the inside of the bell.
Unwarned striking with lifting off the 2nd wheel, overlift off the 3rd and locking on the 4th wheel.
Alarm.
Traincount:
30
── 10 (x 2)
5
The entire mechanism is a restoration, not correct in all details. The clearest error is the even number of teeth on the scape wheel. The other important fault is the method of locking/unlocking, which is now done by a pivoted piece, which takes the place of the original slide; the pivoted locking arm, which now engages the small "pendulum", should be shorter so that it can lock the slide.
Open spring, held by a "cage" bent out of sheet and secured with two rivets.
PERFORMANCE.
Going train: great wheel - 1 rev. in 4 hours.
escapement - 6210 beats per hour.
duration - 26 hours.
Striking train: great wheel - ca.2.5 revs. in 24 hours.
MEASUREMENTS.
Diameter:
Hight:
Movement: distance between the plates - 27 mm.
COMMENTARY.
The punchmark PG (mongram) in shield occurs on six other round clocks: dated 1578 (Nationalmuseum, Stockholm 1)), 1582 (Victoria & Albert Museum, London 2)), 1585 (Livrustkammaren, Stockholm) 3), 1585 (Nationalmuseet, Kopenhagen 4), 1586 (London Museum 5)), and undated (Castle Skokloster, Sweden 6)). The Skokloster clock has an inscription indicating that it belonged to Per Brahe, who died in 1590, but it is likely that the inscription dates from between 1561 (when Per was created Count) and 1583 (when his wife Beata Stenbock died). Of these clocks, the one in Skokloster provides the most interesting paralel, in that it has a similar dial.
There is no doubt how the monogram of the mark should be read: the clocks of 1578 and 1582, in addition to having the mark, have the inscription PG. In the past this mark has been tentatively identified as Paulus Grimm of Nuremberg 7), but this identification is highly doubtful. Paulus Grimm of Nuremberg is mentoned from 1619, when he made the clock in the Claren Kirche, and he died in 1632 while in function as city-clockmaker 8). These dates are considerably later than those on the PG-clocks. In view of the slightly unusual built of these clocks (unconventional pillars, very heavy plates for a relatively flat movement etc.), and the fact that four of them have Scandinavian connections, it is more likely that they were actually made by Peter Grundel of Kopenhagen and Stockholm. He was the son of a colonel in the Imperial German army who was killed in action near Reval (Estonia) in 1571. After the death of his father Peter was given as a serf to a German colonel in Russian service, who took him to Stockholm and subsequently Copenhagen, where he was left destitute. The boy was taken into an orphanage and later apprenticed in Hamburg at the expense of King Frederik II. In 1586 he became clockmaker to Johan III in Stockholm, and is last mentioned in 1594 9).
The plaques which form the band of the case are described Weber (1975) no.572, though the plaque she illustrates is a badly cropped specimen (loss of about a quarter on each side). Weber describes the model as West-German(?) ca.1570 and cites its use on a silver ewer.
The later escutchons on the band of the case can be identified. The griffon in a shield surmounted by a crown and a mitre seems to indicate the Dukes of Pommerania, who were also Titular Bishops of Camin (the family died out in 1637 and the title went to the Margaves of Brandeburg); the other escutchons represent the Fürsten Salm (became Fürsten in ), the Grafen Nesselrode-Ereshoven (arms augmented this way in 1705/3?), and the Grafen Ballestrem di Castellengo (arms augmented this way in 1745, when the title was recognized by the Prusian Crown). All have connections with the Kingdom of Prussia.
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1) Unpublished.
2) Unpublished.
3) Round clock with integral stand. See Blomquist (1965).
4) Maurice (1976) fig.501.
5) Two-stage clock. Unpublished.
6) Knutsson (1987) 9, 31, 39, 54.
7) First in Cat.Ilbert (1958).
8) For Paulus Grimm see: J.C.Siebenkees, Materialien zur Nürnbergischen Geschichte (Nuremberg 1792-95) III 62-3 (already quoted Baillie 1 [1929] 156); Maurice (1976) p.299. See also Lunardi (1974) 139, 194; Abeler (1977) 224.
9) Sidenbladh 2 (1947) 66-7; Pipping (1995) 277 (with help from Dr.Gunnar Pipping, Saltsjöbaden).
The mask on the bottom of the base apears to derive from one of the designs by Cornelis Floris ...
The frame of the movement is unusually heavy: it has thick plates (2.5 - 3 mm!) and comparatively crude pillars.
Looked under the fixed portion of the dial: there is nothing there, except some traces of copper brazing for the feet.
Date and initials are under the gilding.
Many of the new parts have been aged/distressed, apparently by acid (most of the alarm-mechanism incl. the levers under the dial, the latches, balance and cock, bridge for astr.wheel on back plate.); some parts just look brand new (greatwheel-assembly alarm, astr. wheel on back plate, arbor of this wheel with the pinion, the extension of the hour-hand arbor).
Spring going train: brown-blue, 14 x .4 mm (depth of barrel - 16 mm).
Spring alarm: blue, 8 x .2 mm.
A few holes in the plates have been closed by means of small screws.
For another clock with applied plaques, one of them a coat-of-arms: Pipa (1966) 48-51 (the arms appear to be derived from Württemberg). There is another clock with such applied arms in Dresden, signed TR D = Tobias Reichel, Dresden, 1603 (Grötzsch/Karpinski [1979] no.34; Schardin [1989] no.6).
Also a clockmaker named Poul in Kopenhagen; little is known about this man, except that he was Clockmaker to the King from 1583, and died in 1586 (Liisberg [1908] 157-8).
THe V.& A. clock of 1582 appears to have a sundial inside the base: check latitude.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY (Pauline Wholey – 2019)
Symonds (1947) R.W.Symonds, A History of English Clocks (London/New York 1947). Reprinted 1950 as A Book of English Clocks.
London 1958 Pendulum to Atom, Goldsmiths Hall, London, 1958. For this exhib. see: HJ 100 no.1199 (August 1958) 491; HJ 100 no.1202 (November 1958) 711 718; HJ 100 no.1203 (December 1958) 816 820 (tribute to Coole at the end).
Ilbert (1958) Auction cat. coll. Courtenay A. Ilbert, London, Christie, 6 7 November 1958.
Dawson etc. (1958) P.G.Dawson, C.B.Drover, H.Quill, R.K.Foulkes, M.Hurst, L.Hurst, F.H.Knowles Brown & C.Clutton, `The Ilbert Collection of Clocks & Watches', AH 2 No.9 (December 1958) 161 178.
Tait (1968) H.Tait, Clocks in the British Museum (London 1968).
Maurice (1976) K.Maurice, Die deutsche Räderuhr, 2 vols. (Munich 1976). Page numbers refer to vol.1, fig. numbers to vol.2
Jagger (1977) C.Jagger, The World's great Clocks and Watches (London etc. 1977).
Abeler (1977) - J.Abeler, Meister der Uhrmacherkunst (Wuppertal 1977).
- Location
- On display (G38/dc4)
- Acquisition date
- 1958
- Acquisition notes
- The Ilbert Collection of clocks, prints and other related material was destined to be sold at Christie's auction house on 6th-7th November 1958. As a result of the generous donation of funds by Gilbert Edgar CBE the sale was cancelled and the material purchased privately from the beneficiaries of the Ilbert Estate.NL1Ilbert's watches were then acquired with further funds from Gilbert Edgar CBE, public donations and government funds. These were then registered in the series 1958,1201.
- Department
- Britain, Europe and Prehistory
- Registration number
- 1958,1006.2113
- Additional IDs
-
Previous owner/ex-collection number: CAI.2113 (Ilbert Collection)
-
Previous owner/ex-collection number: Q335 (Ilbert Ledger)