| A rare and important twelve-tune, four-train English Musical Tall Case Clock by one of the most respected makers of 18th century musical clocks.
The London firm of Gravel and Tolkien were the successors to Eardley Norton, and carried on their fine tradition of building exceptional clocks for clients with the means to commission the most complicated and expensive clocks of their day.
This clock is a tribute to their exceptional talents and design prowess, both in the aesthetics of the cabinet and dial and the elegant engineering of the movement.
The case is done in lively grained fiddleback mahogany with hand carving, marquetry inlays and delicate fretwork pediment. The dial is hand engraved with an oversize seconds bit, sweep center calendar, strike/silent, tune selector for twelve tunes and a rare piano/forte selector to control the volume of the musical tunes.
The movement is a massive machine with four full weight-driven gear trains, allowing it to chime the quarter hours on a nest of bells as well as playing twelve complex tunes on the hour with twenty three hammers on a nest of sixteen bells.
To our knowledge this is a unique piece, and among the rarest of complicated tall case clocks on the market at present.
105"h x 23"w x 13"d circa 1790
Offered at $145,000
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