George III Bracket Clock, signed JOHN TAYLOR. London, third quarter of the 18th century.
Mahogany veneered case with gilt bronze appliques.
Gilt dial with gilt bronze spandrels, month calendar and strike override.
Machine, eight days winding, square plates and engraved back, hour strike on a bell and with alarm clock.
Measurements: 55 x 28,5 x 20 cm.
Bracket type table clock, signed by the English clockmaker John Taylor, one of the most renowned creators of bracket type clocks in London in those years. Its case is veneered in mahogany and decorated with openwork spandrels in fine tracery. It has an architectural structure, with an arched front and a talud-like dome with curved angles. The dial has Roman numerals (Arabic for the minutes) engraved in black on a silver circle and has an auxiliary window for the date calendar. A second dial, with a chime function, allows it to be silenced. This is a highly decorative piece, culminating in gilt-bronze pinnacles and other vegetal elements. The sides have ornamental latticework and side handles for easy carrying.
Bracket clocks of English origin are notable mainly for their mechanism, but also for their decoration. This type of clock originated in the 17th century in the 1960s, when the pendulum was applied to the clock, replacing the previous "foliot" or balance regulator. This change made it necessary to provide the mechanism with a case to protect it from shocks that could alter its movement. This was the origin of the watches known in England as brackets, i.e. portable watches. These were short cases which housed a mechanism held between two thick plates and contained, as the driving force for each train, a combination of a hub and a snail. These clocks were originally intended to be placed on a bracket, hence their English name. This bracket was a separate piece that was usually made at the same time, with decoration to match the clock. Later, however, the base and clock began to be made separately.