Iskra Oak Box Clock

Auction announcements
11th November 2015
Lot 118: The upper arm was restored in center.

Brass, gold-plated, alabaster, metal, cord
Presumably Austria, 19th/20th Century
Small brass movement, weight driven, verge escapement
White enameled dial, Roman hour-markers, Arabic minutes, blackened hands, frontal cow tail
Delicately engraved fronton with neo-classical dcor
Toothed brass rod upon a multiply stepped round alabaster base with brass inlays, two lateral weights on balance beam and return shafts.
Height: 37.5 cm
The clock was running, good, age-related condition
Refined weight-driven clock, whose dial moves down the toothed rack by its own weight
Estimate by Auctionata Expert: 2,400 Euro

Wall and table clocks mostly driven by their own weight, were very popular especially in the 18th century. They were primarily manufactured in Southern Germany and Austria. Their unusual drive was used for quite different formal types. As offered exemplar, sawtooth clocks are almost always fitted with a verge escapement and frontal pendulum.

Condition:

The sawtooth clock is in a good, age-related condition. In places the gold-plating is rubbed. Partially base is heavier bumped and rubbed, several cracks can be seen. The dial shows some smaller chips and fine hairline cracks. The upper bar for the suspension of the weights is slightly cracked at the center. The dcor of the fronton has some blemishes. During in house testing, the clock was running, did however stop after a short time; no guarantee on long term precision and regularity. The height of the timepiece measures 37.5 cm.