A Victorian gilt brass horizontal table clock in the manner of Thomas Cole Unsigned, second quarter of the 19th century The circular frosted gilt eight-day movement with the mainspring barrel and principle wheels of the going train positioned behind the backplate occupying the lower two thirds of the circle with four back-screwed pillars and applied shaped pivot plate, the upper section with oval sub-plate applied with vertical platform lever escapement with sprung bimetallic balance, the frontplate stamped with indistinct monogram, the 2 inch circular white enamel Roman numeral dial with Arabic five minutes to outer track and blued steel arrow hands set within fixed glazed moulded gilt bezel, the geometric case formed as an equilateral triangle with the D-shaped lobes to each of the sides with projecting top panel incorporating complex edge mouldings around applied oval Jasperware intaglio portraits to the curved sections alternating with ball finials to the apex of each of the triangle points between, the base with fine repeating leaf cast projection moulding over ball feet around a frosted glazed circular hinged bezel to underside, 14cm (5.5ins) wide. The current timepiece follows in the fashion for unusual and highly decorative timepieces made popular by Thomas Cole who starting producing finely finished and highly decorative timepieces in his highly distinctive style during the late 1840's. Thomas Cole's style was adopted by many other makers who, after Cole's untimely death of Typhoid fever in 1864, continued in his tradition to satisfy demand. The form of the case has its roots in Renaissance clock and watchmaking, in particular the latter years of the 16th century when unusual-shaped cases for watches and some horizontal table clocks became highly fashionable. The movement of the present timepiece is well made with finely finished plates, and the precision of the construction of the case together with particularly crisp mouldings indicates a quality approach of a highly skilled maker following in Cole's footsteps.