The Skeleton in the Clock
A good quality Victorian skeleton clock to be auctioned by Fellows in their forthcoming Antiques & Fine Art sale.
Skeleton clocks were produced around the middle of the 19th Century, and enjoyed their greatest period of popularity following the 1851 Crystal Palace Great Exhibition.
They are highly prized due to the intricacy of their visible movements, and the unusual shapes the frames take – in this case, in the form of a cathedral. Such monuments as the Scott Memorial, Lincoln Cathedral, Brighton Pavilion and Westminster Abbey were copied by a number of eminent makers, the foremost being Evans of Handsworth and Smith of Clerkenwell.
Collectors pay attention to such minutiae as the number of pillars and the number of wheel spokes on these models, as well as the intricate shape of the dial.
This example is estimated at £800-1,200 and will feature in the next Antiques & Fine Art auction on Tuesday 13th December
