Automaton Timepieces Archives - Antique Automatons

Automaton Pocket Watches

Antique Automatons — Thu, 03 Oct 2019 14:19:22 +0000

Automaton Pocket Watches. Below are some examples of pocket watches which have automatons in their design, including an 18 karat gold watch by Lecoultre & Co and an open face pocket watch attributed to Henri Capt

LECOULTRE & CO. AN 18K GOLD AND POLYCHROME ENAMEL KEYLESS WIND MINUTE REPEATING JACQUEMART FULL HUNTER POCKET WATCH WITH AUTOMATON
Date: Circa 1880
Movement: Lever escapement, bi-metallic compensation balance, Breguet overcoil, wolf’s tooth winding, two polished hammers striking on two gongs
Dial: Gilt and enamelled, grey guilloche enamelled dial, blue Roman numerals, applied gilt outer minute track with 5 minute markers, subsidiary dial at 5 with Arabic numerals for seconds, two enamelled turbaned courtiers striking twin bells resting on pink foliate, gilt lance hands
Case: Polished hinged round, signed cuvette, No.1974
Size: 54mm
Accompaniments: Fitted wooden case, 18K gold chain

Sold for £ 9,562 (US$ 11,489) inc. premium at Bonham’s in 2021

ATTRIBUTED TO HENRI CAPT, YELLOW GOLD AND PAINTED ON ENAMEL QUARTER-REPEATING MUSICAL AUTOMATON OPENFACE POCKET WATCH

CIRCA: 1810
CASE MATERIAL: Yellow gold and enamel
CASE DIAMETER: 59 mm.
DIAL: Gold
MOVEMENT: Key-wound
FUNCTIONS: Minute repeater and musical automaton

Sold for CHF 52,500 at Christie’s in 2021

Gold Hunting Case ‘Automaton 1/4 Hour Repeater’ Pocket Watch
Lever-set, push button, double hammer, 1/4 hour repeater, guilloché dial, subsidiary seconds dial, 2 angels ringing a bell, angel playing a string instrument, silver & gold-tone spires on a green enamel and engine-turned background, dia. ap. 59.6 mm., gilt-movement, front cover missing.

Sold for $2,812 (includes buyer’s premium) at Doyle in 2021

A Magnificent Swiss Arnex automaton musical pocket watch with alarm. This pocket watch by Arnex features a gold tone open face case, reeded body, high polished bezel, high polished ornately decorated case back with central musical instruments, acrylic crystal, white porcelain dial with a printed scenic image, musical alarm function that plays “Oh, what a beautiful morning”, a truly delightful applied gilt metal automaton scene depicting a mounted gilt falconer who’s arm raises proudly exhibiting his falcon while his horses head dips into a fountain simultaneously a delightful illusion simulating running water is taking place while a beauty vigorously manipulates the fountains lever with her arm thrusting upwards and downwards, gold tone breguet hands, blued steel alarm hand, and a fine Swiss made Arnex 17 jewel mechanical moment – movement with a separate musical movement.

Sold for US$3,800 at Clarke Auction Gallery in 2022

A GILT METAL MUSICAL AUTOMATON OPEN-FACED POCKET WATCH WITH CONCEALED EROTIC AUTOMATON NO 1974 CIRCA 1985
gilt metal
diameter 57 mm
• gilt lever movement, 17 jewels, gilt cuvette with winding aperture for the automation • painted dial with a countryside scenery, eccentric time display with Roman numerals, applied gilt automaton of a gentleman on horseback with a hawk on his moving arm, the horse is moving its head to drink the water from the animated water fountain pumped by a lady • gilt case, milled band, tri-coloured erotic automaton concealed under the hinged case back with foliage engravings, alarm setting at 11 o’clock • dial signed, cuvette signed and numbered

Sold for 41,250 HKD at Sotheby’s in 2018

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Automaton Table Clocks

Antique Automatons — Wed, 02 Oct 2019 16:54:43 +0000

Automaton Table Clocks. Below are some examples of automaton table clocks including a Henry Borrell “Sailing Ships” clock and a George III musical clock by John Mottram

HENRY BORRELL, LONDON. A MAGNIFICENT AND LARGE CHASED AND ENGRAVED ORMOLU QUARTER STRIKING MUSICAL CLOCK WITH AUTOMATA ‘SAILING SHIPS’, MADE FOR THE CHINESE MARKET, CIRCA 1795

Movement: Large three train chain fusee movement striking on bells, rack striking on a nest of eight bells playing two musical tunes, playing on the hour or at will through a button on the side of the case, highly decorative engraved floral and scroll back-plate, when the music is activated the engraved panel raises to reveal an automaton scene of painted ships and galleons on a realistically portrayed sea, the sea replicated by twisted glass rods turning within the automaton.

Sold for HK$ 3,875,625 (US$ 493,775) inc. premium at Bonham’s in 2019

French table clock. Charles X, ca.1830.
With automaton (fountain).
Mercury gilt and blued bronze case.
Paris machine, eight days winding, with pendulum.
Measures: 36,5 x 22 x 12,5 cm.
Singular French clock with automaton, of epoch and Charles X style, inscribing itself in the classicism typical of the epoch. It combines mercury-gilt bronze with blued bronze. The design alternates emphatic volumes and geometric forms with scenes and reproductions of organic and mythological inspiration. Thus, on semicircular feet, rises the base with a bas-relief depicting Dionysus with thyrsus, accompanied by a maenad. In the centre, from a fountain in the form of a lion’s mask, ‘water’ flows from the glass (the automaton mechanism imitates the falling of the liquid). The water falls into a vase flanked by plant shoots. At the top, the dial, surrounded by a floral wreath, is decorated with Roman numerals.

Sold for €2,500 at Setdart Auction House in 2022

John Mottram: A George III gilt-brass paste-set musical automaton table clock for the Chinese market London, circa 1790

3¾-inch enamel dial with centre seconds, the three train chain fusee movement with verge escapement, striking the hours and ting-tang quarters on two bells and playing one of four tunes on a carillon of ten bells with eighteen hammers every three hours, the surmount automaton powered by the musical train and comprising seven paste-set rosettes spinning around a central pink and white rosette, a further rosette above also rotates along with the red and white finial, the case with domed top and urn finials above pierced scroll corners, paste-set front, moulded serpentine base and splayed feet, the whole finely engraved with foliage and swags with circle and dot borders

53.5cm 21in high

Sold for 277,200 GBP at Sotheby’s in 2021

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Automaton Clocks

Antique Automatons — Wed, 02 Oct 2019 08:16:35 +0000

Automaton Clocks. An automaton clock or automata clock is a type of striking clock featuring automatons. Clocks like these were built from the 1st century BC through to Victorian times in Europe. A Cuckoo clock is a simple form of this type of clock.

The first known mention is of those created by the Roman engineer Vitruvius, describing early alarm clocks working with gongs or trumpets. Later automatons usually perform on the hour, half-hour or quarter-hour, usually to strike bells. Common figures in older clocks include Death (as a reference to human mortality), Old Father Time, saints and angels. In the Regency and Victorian eras, common figures also included royalty, famous composers or industrialists.

More recently constructed automaton clocks are widespread in Japan, where they are known as karakuri-dokei. Notable examples of such clocks include the Nittele Ōdokei, designed by Hayao Miyazaki to be affixed on the Nippon Television headquarters in Tokyo, touted to be the largest animated clock in the world. In the United Kingdom, Kit Williams produced a series of large automaton clocks for a handful of British shopping centres, featuring frogs, ducks and fish. Reference: Wikipedia

Below are some examples and price guides of automaton clocks including a novelty lighthouse clock and a clock in the form of an elephant.

A GOOD LATE 19TH CENTURY FRENCH AUTOMATA NOVELTY CLOCK WITH HELICAL SPRING
Guilmet, no.1050
Realistically modelled on a lighthouse with glazed head, turned balustrade, brickwork corners, windows and a door, on a stepped slate base and brass feet, the dial mounted in the first floor window with Roman numerals and blued steel spade hands, the movement with square plates bearing the Guilmet trademark with deadbeat Brocot style escapement, striking the hours and half hours on a coiled steel gong, with pendulum constructed from a pierced brass cylinder mounted to the top with a helical hairspring visible through a facetted glass sleeve. Together with an associated winding key. 59cms high

Sold for € 10,837 (US$ 11,014) inc. premium at Bonham’s in 2021

A SILVERED BRONZE, ENAMELED SILVER AND GILT-BRONZE ELEPHANT AUTOMATON CLOCK
AUGSBURG, CIRCA 1600-1610
The clock is in the form of an elephant, with a howdah in the form of a castle tower, with four turbaned soldiers with raised scimitars which rotate around the tower, there are two enameled dials and two glass dials through which the clock works are visible, the elephant’s eyes move and he is accompanied by two mahouts, one riding on his back and a second walking alongside, all on a naturalistically-cast ground on a silver-mounted ebony and ebonized pearwood veneered base over an oak carcass, which encloses further mechanics which propel the automaton forward in a slight circle, the works are currently partially non-functioning but are largely intact and, with restoration, will almost certainly be able to function and detailed condition reports are available upon request.
Approximately 13.7 in. (35 cm.) height overall; 3.5 in. (9 cm.) height of pedestal; 10.2 in. (26 cm.) height of elephant from ground to top of tower

Sold for USD 2,610,000 at Christie’s in 2021

George III Ebonized and Brass-Mounted Automaton Clock by Spencer & Perkins, London
The 7 1/4-inch dial with flower-painted center, two-train four-pillar movement with signature dial Spencer & Perkins / London above a scene of workers making barrels flanked by trellises with grape clusters, with elaborately engraved backplate, the ebonized case with domed top, brass-mounted sound frets and corner finials, brass female herm canted corners and frets to the sides, raised on scrolled feet. Height 27 inches (68.6 cm).

Sold for $4,687 (includes buyer’s premium) at Doyle in 2019

Gilt Architectural Musical Automaton Clock, C. 1870
Approximate Dimensions : 48cm*40cm

Sold for US$17,000 at Alden’s Auction in 2022

A lacquered brass and painted tôle automaton clock, English, composite

2¾-inch silvered dial beneath an aperture with automaton forge scene, the associated and earlier two train fusee movement with anchor escapement, shaped plates and rack striking on a bell, the rectangular case with brass carrying handle and painted to the front and sides with naive rural coaching scenes, on brass bracket feet

28cm 11in high; 19cm 7½in wide

Sold for 630 GBP at Sotheby’s in 2022

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