TIFFANY & CO. | AN IMPORTANT WOOD BRASS STEEL AND ABALONE ASTRONOMICAL REPEATING TALL LONGCASE CLOCK MADE FOR THE WORLD'S COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION CIRCA 1892

Dial: brushed silver, brass bezelsCalibre: brass plates, wooden calendar wheelsMovement number: 674Case: amaranth with comiko marquetryDimensions: height 95.5 inchesSigned: dial and movement

World Columbian Exposition, Chicago 1893 Flagler Museum, Palm Beach, Florida “Tiffany at the World's Columbian Exposition" at the Henry Morrison , January 2012- April 2012

John M. Blades and John Loring, Tiffany at The World’s Columbian Exposition, 2006, pgs. 34, 47, & 107

Please contact the department for further information.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. All dimensions in catalogue descriptions are approximate. Condition reports may not specify mechanical replacements or imperfections to the movement, case, dial, pendulum, separate base(s) or dome. Watches in water-resistant cases have been opened to examine movements but no warranties are made that the watches are currently water-resistant. Please note that we do not guarantee the authenticity of any individual component parts, such as wheels, hands, crowns, crystals, screws, bracelets and leather bands, since subsequent repairs and restoration work may have resulted in the replacement of original parts. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue. In particular, please note it is the purchaser's responsibility to comply with any applicable import and export matters, particularly in relation to lots incorporating materials from endangered species.NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

**Please be advised that bands made of materials derived from endangered or otherwise protected species (i.e. alligator and crocodile) are not sold with the watches and are for display purposes only. We reserve the right to remove these bands prior to shipping."

The present lot, signed by Tiffany & Co. makers, was ordered by William Henry Vanderbilt, and is one of the most complicated clocks made in America. Tiffany & Co. went on to exhibit this piece at the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where it was one of their most important pieces on view. Standing at eight feet tall in the style of Louis XV, this magnificent piece combines exceptional aesthetics with brilliantly designed complications, with 13 silver and enameled dials within the Californian abalone frame. Each dial relays information which demonstrates the mechanical genius of the makers of this piece.

The uppermost dial displays the positions of the sun and moon with a horizon line above the sea, which indicates changes in tide. Of the two dials directly below, the right-most one displays a perpetual calendar indicating signs of the zodiac, month, date, day of the week, and leap year. The left-most disc is divided into twenty four parts and degrees from Greenwich. This dial also includes 31 major cities around the world. Another revolving plate indicates the hour of the day or night in each location. Two rotating cylinders directly above indicate the years since the Independence of the United States and the year of the Julian calendar. The five dials above the main dial indicate the Equation of Time, Golden number and Epact, Dominical letters, and Sun cycle. Lastly, the remaining dials display the local time, time in Washington D.C. and Greenwich, and declination by degrees north and south of the sun and moon.  

The entire clock is a marvel of American woodworking, design and horology. Featured alongside four other clocks within Tiffany & Co.'s exhibition in 1893, the piece would have surely been one of the most breathtaking wonders of the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building at the Columbian Exposition.

For a photograph and an illustration of this piece in Tiffany’s exhibit at the 1893  Chicago World Columbian Exposition, see John M. Blades and John Loring ,Tiffany at The World’s Columbian Exposition pp. 34, 47 and 107.