Antiques PR Publicity Announcements News and Info
Antiques PR Publicity Announcements News and Info

Long Clock Makes at £400,000 at Bonhams

A clock dating to around 1670 has sold for £400,000 at Bonhams New Bond Street sale of Fine Clocks and Barometers on 15th December. The final total for the sale reached almost £2,000,000.

Long-ClockJames Stratton, Head of Bonhams Clock Department says: “This is a fantastic result. This clock was made while the ashes from the great fire of London were still cooling. Impeccable provenance, rarity and immaculate construction all make this a collector’s piece and a fantastic investment. The best of the best will continue to demand a premium price – which has proven to be the story of this recession.

The estimate of £100,000 – £150,000 paid tribute to the lot’s historical value but even we were surprised by the level of interest. Without doubt, had this clock been known to the great horological historians of the past, it would have featured in many of the standard reference works and exhibitions as a wonderful, largely untouched, example of the formative years of the English pendulum clock.”

One of the few architectural longcase clocks that survive by Ahasuerus Fromanteel, this is unique in having a silver mounted dial and what appears to be the original bell.

The long clock wasn’t the only to command a stellar price. Lot 96, a fine and rare early 18th century ebony veneered, bracket clock went for close to £300,000.

www.bonhams.com/clocks