CLOCK MADE WHILE LONDON SMOULDERED AFTER THE GREAT FIRE SETS BONHAMS SALE ROOM ALIGHT
BONHAMS £2M CLOCK SALE
A clock dating to around 1670 has sold for £400,000 at Bonhams New Bond Street sale of Fine Clocks and Barometers on 15th December. The final total for the sale reached almost £2,000,000.
James Stratton, Head of Bonhams Clock Department says: “This is a fantastic result. This clock was made while the ashes from the great fire of London were still cooling. Impeccable provenance, rarity and immaculate construction all make this a collector’s piece and a fantastic investment. The best of the best will continue to demand a premium price – which has proven to be the story of this recession.
The estimate of £100,000 - £150,000 paid tribute to the lot’s historical value but even we were surprised by the level of interest. Without doubt, had this clock been known to the great horological historians of the past, it would have featured in many of the standard reference works and exhibitions as a wonderful, largely untouched, example of the formative years of the English pendulum clock.”
One of the few architectural longcase clocks that survive by Ahasuerus Fromanteel, this is unique in having a silver mounted dial and what appears to be the original bell.
The long clock wasn’t the only to command a stellar price. Lot 96, a fine and rare early 18th century ebony veneered, bracket clock went for close to £300,000.
Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son and Neale UK. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America. Today, Bonhams offers more sales than any of its rivals, through two major salerooms in London: New Bond Street, and Knightsbridge, and a further seven throughout the UK. Sales are also held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Boston in the USA; and Switzerland, France, Monaco, Australia, Hong Kong and Dubai. Bonhams has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 25 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 50 specialist areas. For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, go to www.bonhams.com.
