John Fromanteel, London, Circa 1670 a walnut veneered architectural striking longcase clock C

John Fromanteel, London | Circa 1670
A fine Charles II walnut veneered and gilt-brass mounted architectural striking longcase clock.
Height: 6 foot 2 inches (1880 mm).
Case: The architectural case veneered in walnut onto an oak carcass, the rising hood with walnut long-grain mouldings to the tympanum above a plain frieze, which is supported by gilt-brass multi-piece Corinthian capitals on three-quarter tapered walnut columns to the front and matching quarter columns to the rear, against fillets rising behind the entablature. The hood resting on a block-moulded walnut convex throat moulding above a four-section book-matched walnut veneered rectangular trunk door, mounted straight to the trunk sides. The plain walnut book-matched veneered plinth, below the walnut cavetto/ovolo block moulding and raised on four turned walnut bun feet.
Dial: The 91⁄2 inch (242 mm) square brass dial with traces of the original gilding, and cherub’s head spandrels to each corner, signed Johannes Fromanteel Londini Fecit along the lower edge, and held to the frontplate by four latched dial feet. The silvered Roman chapter ring with trident half-hours and Arabic minutes every 5 within the divisions. The matted centre with subsidiary silvered seconds ring mounted below XII, low set, narrow spaced, shuttered winding holes and a square chamfered date aperture above VI, and well sculpted hands in blued steel.
Duration: 8 days.
Movement: The tall rectangular movement with four latched finned baluster pillars and bolt-and- shutter maintaining power. The two trains with large great wheels on opposing ends of each barrel; the going has an early anchor escapement with long pallet arms mounted on a tapered square section arbor with a corresponding pallet aperture in the backplate; the strike train with an external inertial fly outside the backplate and governed by an internal countwheel mounted direct on the frontplate side of the strike train greatwheel, striking the hours via a horizontal hammer arbor on a large bell above. The lower pillars guided into place by taper pins and the whole resting on typical early seatboard blocks and held by a bracket to the backboard.
Escapement: Early anchor with long pallet arms to reduce pendulum amplitude.
Strike Type: Internal countwheel hour striking, fixed to the greatwheel.
Provenance:
• Private collection UK.
• 1996 with Anthony Woodburn and sold for £125,000.
Exhibited:
• 2004, Huygens’ Legacy, Paleis Het Loo, Holland, exhibit no.43.
• 2018, Innovation & Collaboration, London, exhibit no.60.
Literature:
• Huygens’ Legacy, The Golden Age of the Pendulum Clock, 2004, p.122-123.
• Garnier & Hollis, Innovation & Collaboration, 2018, p.242.
This early walnut-veneered longcase clock represents an important step forward, not only in the development of longcases, but also the dials and movements from the Fromanteel workshops. Arguably driven by an increasingly competitive market and the consequential requirement to innovate, and thereby save costs without compromising on function.
The case must be one of the very first to use indigenous walnut veneers that were presumably less expensive than imported ebony and were yet to become widespread in English furniture until later in the 1670s. It establishes a clear and important move forward from the puritanical ‘Henry Ford’ approach of ‘any colour you like as long as it’s black’, whilst seemingly proclaiming accuracy now displayed to the second. The case design retains many of its true architectural credentials, such as the cornice drip, but has been simplified, reflecting the use of new decorative softer walnut rather than absolute architectural detail.
Gone are the raised panels to the trunk sides and door, while the mouldings themselves have also been pared-down with some considered unnecessary altogether. The requirement of additional case mounts is also reduced with the visual impact transferred to the decorative walnut veneers instead.
The movement is set within slender rectangular plates that include various new innovations, some that would remain and would be developed further, each constituting cost savings in materials or labour while not compromising on function and accuracy whilst others were less successful and would not continue. To keep the width of expensive cast-brass front and backplates to a minimum, the barrels are planted relatively low and close together. Usually, both greatwheels are set at the back of the train and their diameter being bigger than the that of the barrels, this sets the winding arbor spacings.
For further information about Dr John C Taylor, please visit his website at www.johnctaylo...