A rare late 17th century English eight-day spring-driven table clock with bolection mouldings signed J Gerrard London. Circa 1700, England.

A rare late 17th century English eight-day spring-driven table clock with bolection mouldings signed J Gerrard London. Circa 1700, England.

The elegantly proportioned, austere ebony-veneered domed top case has bolection mouldings to the doors and rectangular windows to the sides so that the movement is almost entirely visible. The case rests on four wooden block feet.

The fine rectangular brass dial with matted centre and delicately ringed winding holes has an applied silvered chapter ring, a date aperture above the VI, a false pendulum aperture under the XII, and gilt brass winged cherub-head spandrels in the corners. The chapter ring is engraved with an outer minute ring within which are Arabic five-minute numerals and 7½-minute markers, a central ring of Roman hours I-XII and half-hour markers and an inner ring divided into quarter hours. The time is indicated by an elegant pair of finely pierced and sculpted blued steel hands. The raised dial is signed in the space created at the top J Gerrard LONDON.

The striking eight-day twin fusee five pillar brass movement has early fusees with open click work, and verge escapement with a short knife-suspended pendulum. The rack striking indicates the hours fully on a bell. The backplate is profusely engraved in period style around a typical signature cartouche with the maker’s name: John Gerrard LONDON. The movement has pull-quarter repeat on a nest of four bells differing in pitch.

The maker

A John Gerrard was working at St Martin in the Fields. He had several children with his wife Martha, all baptised there in the early years of the 18th century. There is another maker of the same name, but he was active later and given the period of this clock, the above-mentioned John must be the maker.