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拍品专文
Thomas Tompion 1639-1713, born at Northill, Bedfordshire, had moved to London by 1671 and became a Brother of the Clockmakers' Company by redemption. In 1674 he moved to Water Lane and met Dr.Robert Hooke through whom he came to the notice of Charles II. From this time he held an unrivalled position in English horology. In 1703 he was Master of the Clockmakers' Company. He died aged 74 and is buried in Westminster Abbey.
Thomas Tompion's reputation both when he was alive and now, was based on excellence; his clocks were always made to an exceptional and consistently high standard. It is true to say that Tompion's standard clocks were made to a higher quality than most of his contemporaries' best quality timepieces.
The present example was made within a brief but prominent transitional period within Tompion's oeuvre. In about 1690 when Tompion's output reached approximately No.150 in his numbering system Tompion began to adopt his new and unique system for regulating the pendulum. By adjusting a hand on a calibrated subsidiary dial (on the main dial) the pendulum could be raised or lowered, thus regulating the clock's timekeeping. The innovation was simplicity itself because no longer did one have to turn the clock around, open the back door and then adjust the height of the pendulum bob; a process which stopped the clock for a period of time and undoubtedly led to damage and confusion for the owner. The new system was adopted with the regulation dial on the left and, to balance it, a strike/silent dial on the right. The concept meant that the dial went from being square to rectangular and for a brief period Tompion's cases took time to adjust to the new proportions of these innovative dials. His ebony bracket clock, No.155 (Christie's, New York, 27th October 1988, lot 63) was one of the earliest and most prominent examples where the subsidiary dials are 50 occluded by the top rail of the front door. Within probably less than a few months the case proportions had been corrected so that by as early as No.171 (R.W. Symonds, Thomas Tompion, His life and work, Batsford, 1969, fig 125, p. 150) both dials are clearly clearly visible beneath the front door.
The present clock is one of the few 'undiscovered' examples remaining to appear on the open market. Fortunately, and increasingly rarely, its case, dial and movement have been left largely untouched by the ravages of the last 340 years.
Thomas Tompion's reputation both when he was alive and now, was based on excellence; his clocks were always made to an exceptional and consistently high standard. It is true to say that Tompion's standard clocks were made to a higher quality than most of his contemporaries' best quality timepieces.
The present example was made within a brief but prominent transitional period within Tompion's oeuvre. In about 1690 when Tompion's output reached approximately No.150 in his numbering system Tompion began to adopt his new and unique system for regulating the pendulum. By adjusting a hand on a calibrated subsidiary dial (on the main dial) the pendulum could be raised or lowered, thus regulating the clock's timekeeping. The innovation was simplicity itself because no longer did one have to turn the clock around, open the back door and then adjust the height of the pendulum bob; a process which stopped the clock for a period of time and undoubtedly led to damage and confusion for the owner. The new system was adopted with the regulation dial on the left and, to balance it, a strike/silent dial on the right. The concept meant that the dial went from being square to rectangular and for a brief period Tompion's cases took time to adjust to the new proportions of these innovative dials. His ebony bracket clock, No.155 (Christie's, New York, 27th October 1988, lot 63) was one of the earliest and most prominent examples where the subsidiary dials are 50 occluded by the top rail of the front door. Within probably less than a few months the case proportions had been corrected so that by as early as No.171 (R.W. Symonds, Thomas Tompion, His life and work, Batsford, 1969, fig 125, p. 150) both dials are clearly clearly visible beneath the front door.
The present clock is one of the few 'undiscovered' examples remaining to appear on the open market. Fortunately, and increasingly rarely, its case, dial and movement have been left largely untouched by the ravages of the last 340 years.