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A rare gilt brass mounted ebony alarm timepiece of month duration with silent-pull quarter-repeat, Thomas Tompion and Edward Banger, London, No. 92 The substantial six finned and latched pillar single fusee movement fully reinstated with large spring barrel and reversed fusee to the five-wheel going train with verge escapement regulated by lenticular bob pendulum with rack-and-pinion pivoted beam regulation to suspension, the quarter repeat mechanism to Tompion’s highly complicated ‘all or nothing’ design sounding on a graduated pair of bells with the larger set between the plates and the smaller above, the alarm mechanism located beneath the larger bell with standing spring barrel and verge hammer assembly, the 8.5 by 7.25 inch backplate with canted upper angles over protruding bell to top left opposing rack box and shaped pivoted arm for the rise/fall pendulum suspension terminating above separate shaped cocks for guiding the suspension spring and for the escapement pallet arbor pivot, the centre with interconnected blue steel repeat levers pivoted via engraved sculpted cocks, the whole engraved by G195 (believed to possibly be Henry Adeane) with fine grotesque mask scrolling foliage within a line-scribed border and centred with an elaborate cartouche signed Tompion & Banger, LONDON over stamped serial number 92 to lower margin, the 8 by 7.25 inch rectangular brass dial with rose engraved silvered alarm setting disc and shaped false bob aperture to the finely matted centre within applied silvered Roman numeral chapter ring with cruciform half hour markers and Arabic five minutes beyond the minute track, with fine pierced and sculpted blued steel hands and crisp gilt female mask and scroll cast spandrels to lower angles, the upper margin with conforming cast spandrel infill interrupted by subsidiary dummy opposing regulation dials, each with complex rosette centres, flanking repeat signature TOMPION + BANGER, LONDON, with leaf engraved detailing to extreme upper corner, the gilt brass mounted ebony case of ‘phase 2’ type with generous hinged gilt brass tied foliate bud carrying handle to the domed caddy superstructure over bold ogee/ovolo top mouldings and front door incorporating lambrequin mask centred gilt foliate scroll cast lozenge sound fret to the upper rail and scroll-bordered cartouche escutcheon mounts to uprights, the sides with small scroll-pierced lozenge sound frets over rectangular apertures inset with conforming foliate pierced fretwork, the rear with rectangular glazed door set within the frame of the case, on shallow ogee moulded skirt base with squab feet, the sill beneath the front foot stamped 92 towards the left hand side, (movement with reinstated wheel trains and repeat work), 38cm (15ins) high excluding handle; 27.5cm (11.75ins) wide; and 16.5cm (6.5ins) deep. Thomas Tompion has often been referred to as the 'father of English clock and watchmaking'. When considering the legacy of his work and influence on subsequent generations, such a compliment is justly deserved. Born in Ickwell, Suffolk in 1639 Thomas Tompion appears to have developed an affinity for metalworking from his father, also named Thomas, who worked as a blacksmith. By 1670 Tompion had moved to London and was working in the clock and watchmaking trade. Although there is no record of his apprenticeship or whether he received any formal training prior to moving to London, he quickly became established and obtained his freedom of the Clockmaker's Company in late 1671. His early clocks demonstrate a close working relationship with the Fromanteel, East and Knibb workshops. Around this time Tompion became friendly with eminent mathematicians and scientists such as Robert Hooke and Jonas Moore - perhaps the most progressive and inventive minds of the day. Such associations lead to Royal commissions, firstly from Charles II for whom Tompion is known to have made one of the earliest balance-spring watches in 1676 and later William III who ordered numerous clocks to furnish his various palaces throughout his reign. As well as being an extremely talented artisan Tompion was also commercially minded, cleverly introducing serial numbering for his watches and clocks from around 1681/2. This, as well as maintaining a high degree of refinement in both the design and construction of his clocks and watches, ensured the highest level of exclusivity for clients purchasing from him. In around 1701 Thomas Tompion took a former apprentice, Edward Banger, into partnership. Banger was originally apprenticed to Thomas Ashby in 1687 but was transferred over to Tompion and gained his freedom of the Clockmaker's Company in 1695. He was clearly a talented maker (when considering the few examples signed by Banger alone) however a serious problem between him and his former master caused the partnership to come to an abrupt end in 1707-8 for reasons unknown. On Banger's departure Tompion reverted to working alone until he found confidence in George Graham who had been engaged as a journeyman for Tompion since 1696. Graham's character had already been given the seal of approval by Tompion who allowed him to marry his niece, Elizabeth, in 1704; however it still would be a few years before Tompion would take Graham into partnership which he eventually did in 1711.Thomas Tompion died in November 1713 leaving the business to George Graham who maintained the same exacting standards and became famous in his own right with notable achievements including the development of the deadbeat escapement for pendulum clocks and the cylinder escapement for watches. Edward Banger outlived Tompion by six years, his abilities as a highly skilled watchmaker are demonstrated within a fine jewelled movement dating to around 1715 by him illustrated by him in Evans, Jeremy THOMAS TOMPION at the Dial and Three Crowns page 54, Fig. 97. The current lot belongs to a small group of around half a dozen Tompion spring clocks where the movements were held in stock and completed at a later date. Interestingly it would appear that all of these were silent-pull quarter timepieces with serials numbers clustered from 79-117 indicating that they were made 1686-88. The fact that both the dial and movement of the current lot are signed by Tompion and Banger together would suggest a date of finishing shortly after 1701. This date is further supported by the provision of two cocks for the double-engaged repeat levers on the movement backplate, which are believed to have been introduced in around 1698 (see Evans, Jeremy; Carter, Jonathan and Wright, Ben THOMAS TOMPION, 300 YEARS page 165).Silent-pull quarter repeating timepieces were essentially made for use in the bed chamber whilst clocks which incorporated normal striking (as well as a quarter-repeat mechanism) were mainly intended to be brought ‘downstairs’ during the day. Consequently silent-pull timepieces were the preserve of very wealthy clients who could afford separate timepieces for both ‘downstairs’ and ‘upstairs’ use. The current lot also incorporates an alarm mechanism (which appears in only half a dozen quarter-repeating timepieces by Tompion) which, together with a duration of one month, would render it perfect for use in a bedchamber of a palatial property. Incidentally there is only one other silent-pull quarter-repeating alarm table timepiece of one month duration by Tompion known - number 85 which is illustrated in Symonds, R.W. THOMAS TOMPION, His Life and Work on page 145 (Figure 111). Although the current timepiece has undergone highly skilled restoration of the movement (to reinstate it back to its original form) it survives as an extremely interesting example originating from the most important London workshop of the ‘Golden Age’ of English clockmaking.

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