A fine multi-colour grande-sonnerie striking and repeating moonphase calendar alarm carriage clock Unsigned, circa 1880 The eight-day two train movement ting-tang striking the quarters on a graduated pair of gongs and then sounding the hour every quarter hour on the larger of the two, with silvered platform lever escapement, alarm sounding on the smaller gong and stamped with serial number 1532 to the lower left hand corner of the backplate, the dial with inset Roman numeral enamel hour disc centred with a rolling moonphase aperture within painted starry sky and billowing clouds, set into a rectangular panel sculpted in relief with bird and butterfly inhabited floral trails picked-out in gilt, silver and copper on a grey patinated ground and incorporating conforming enamel subsidiary alarm setting dial flanked by day-of-of-the-week and date-of-the-month dials to lower margin, the bevel-glazed frosted gilt brass case with every surface decorated with bands and panels of bird inhabited floral sprays picked-out in gilt, silver and copper on a grey patinated ground, including the frame of the baton centred hinged carrying handle, top glass surround and quarter round upper edges, over dentil frieze incorporating projecting angles for the Corinthian column corner uprights with further multicolour decoration to shafts, the rear with door decorated panel of a bird perched within flowering shrubbery and on skirt base incorporating fluted band to upper margin over further bird and flower engraved decoration and disc feet, the underside with three-position strike selection lever labelled G'de Campanco/P'te Campanco/Silencio, 17cm (6.75ins) high excluding handle. Provenance: The beneficiary of the Estate of a private collector, East Midlands. The highly decorative bands and panels decorating every surface of the current lot employs a series of differing techniques to gild, silver, copper and chemically patinate the finely finished relief cast and engraved scenes to provide depth and contrast. A closely related case incorporating comparable decoration to all parts illustrated in Roberts, Derek CARRIAGE and other Travelling CLOCKS on page 160 (Figure 9.38) where the decoration is described as 'quite outstanding' and 'must have been one of the most time consuming methods of decorating a carriage clock'. This coupled with the high number of complications in the movement and dial would certainly place the current clock as one of the finest available at the time. The dial has a very faint retail signature which is now regrettably too faded to read although the word MEXICO can be made out. In addition to this the various functions of the clock are labelled in Spanish which would seem to confirm that present clock would have been supplied to a high-end retailer based in Mexico City.