JOSEPH KNIBB Londini fecit c1685
Description:
A Charles II quarter repeating spring table clock in a particularly small ‘phase III’ ebony and gilt metal mounted case. Surmounted by a foliate tied gilt metal handle to the cushion top. There are typical masked matching escutcheons to the front door. Joseph Knibb was born in 1640 in Oxford. In 1668 he was given Freedom of the City. To begin with he worked with his brother John in Oxford before moving to London c1672 where he supplied clocks to Charles II and established himself alongside Thomas Tompion as one of the principal clockmakers of the last quarter of the 17th century.
The brass dial and winged and cherub spandrels retain their original fire gilt. Remarkably, the chapter ring appears never to have been re-silvered. The hands are delicately pierced and facetted.
The quarter repeating mechanism is operable from either side of the case and the eight day duration movement includes a verge escapement and a finely engraved backplate in the early style of tulips and foliage and the maker’s signature signed in a crescent. Unusually, this clock stands only 11 ½ inches high (29.5 cm), excluding handle.
Clockmaker: JOSEPH KNIBB Londini fecit
Circa: 1685
Stock Number: 3881
Height: excluding handle, 11.25 inches (29.5 cm.)