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A RENAISSANCE EBONY, LAPIS LAZULI AND GILT-MOUNTED ASTRONOMICAL MONSTRANCE TABLE CLOCK WITH CROSS-BEAT ESCAPEMENT, CASPAR BUSCHMANN II, AUGSBURG, CIRCA 1610
Lot Closed
May 20, 12:08 PM GMT
Estimate
40,000 - 60,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
A RENAISSANCE EBONY, LAPIS LAZULI AND GILT-MOUNTED ASTRONOMICAL MONSTRANCE TABLE CLOCK WITH CROSS-BEAT ESCAPEMENT, CASPAR BUSCHMANN II, AUGSBURG, CIRCA 1610
2¼-inch dial with calendar and lunar indications, a subsidiary dial below decorated in polychrome enamels with the attendant deities for the days of the week, the fusee movement with lipped barrel and cross-beat escapement, the double foliot mounted on the backplate and with winged cherub head terminals, the striking train with standing barrel and external numbered locking plate striking on a bell, the backplate further mounted with foliate pierced and engraved cocks and stamped .C A. B V. for Caspar Buschmann II, the monstrance case with domed top and female figure surmount above pierced and engraved frets, side panels and rear door and insets of lapis lazuli, the moulded base with a concealed frieze drawer, on gilt bracket feet
34 cm. 13½in. high
Please note: Condition 11 of the Conditions of Business for Buyers (Online Only) is not applicable to this lot.
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Antiquorum, Geneva, 14th November 2004, Lot 49
Caspar or Kaspar Buschmann II was born in Augsburg in 1536, the son of Kaspar Buschmann, clockmaker. Caspar II became a Free clockmaker in Augsburg in 1560 and was married in the same year. Astronomical table clocks by him can be found in The Adler Panetarium in Chicago and The National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. He died in Augsburg on 7th March 1613.
The cross-beat escapement was invented in 1584 by Jost Bürgi, a Swiss/German clockmaker and mathematician. Designed as an improvement on the verge and foliot escapement, it comprises two foliots, each with a single pallet and, geared together, oscillating in opposite directions to provide locking of and impulse from the escape wheel. Contemporary accounts stated a much improved accuracy over the standard verge escapement although this is now thought more likely attributable to the high quality of workmanship and better tolerances required than the pure technical theory. In use for only a short period in Germany in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, the cross-beat escapement is extremely rare and, by the early 18th century had fallen into obscurity.
Monstrance clocks are so called because of the similarity of their cases to the religious vessels of the same name used in ritual ceremony by the Roman Catholic Church. Clocks of this form first appeared in Germany during the second half of the 16th century and are more commonly made from gilt-copper or brass. The present clock is a particularly attractive example of the highest quality incorporating the expected astronomical complications of the period and a rare escapement. The case is well-proportioned and combines very fine engraved fretwork with the most unusual addition of panels of lapis lazuli.