A George III mahogany longcase clock, Thomas Sutton, Maidstone,…
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A George III mahogany longcase clock, Thomas Sutton, Maidstone, the arched door flanked by stop fluted mahogany and brass columns and surmounted by three brass finials, above a long trunk with raised panel door, above a square base, raised on bracket feet, with a 12 inch painted Osbourne dial with Roman and Arabic numerals, subsidiary seconds dial and date aperture, with an eight day movement and anchor escapement, 48 cm wide, 23 cm deep, 218 cm high (18.5 wide, 9 deep, 85.5 high)
finial. An architectural decoration, found on the upper parts of of an object. On furniture they are usually found on pediments, canopies and shelf supports. On smaller ceramic or silver items they may decorate the top of the item itself, or the lid or cover where they provide a useful handle for removal.
Finials follow a variety of forms. They may be urn-shaped, baluster shaped round or spiral, but usually taper into an upper point. Many real life shapes may also be used as finials, such as pineapples, berries, pinecones, buds, lotus and acorns. Sometimes animals such as a lion are depicted, or fish and dolphins.
date aperture. A date aperture is a cut out section in the face of a watch or clock, displaying the day of the month.
George III. George III (1738 - 1820) was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1760 to 1820.
mahogany. Mahogany is a dense, close grained red-coloured timber from the West Indies and Central America. It was first imported into Europe in the the early 18th century and its use continued through the 19th century. It was popular for furniture making because of its strength, the wide boards available, the distinctive grain on some boards, termed flame mahogany and the rich warm colour of the timber when it was polished.. The "flame" was produced where a limb grew out from the trunk of the tree, and this timber was usually sliced into veneers for feature panels on doors, backs and cornices.
Some terms used to describe mahogany relate to the country from which it originally came, such as "Cuban" mahogany, "Honduras" mahogany etc. However unless the wood has been tested the names assigned are more a selling feature, rather than a true indication of the timber's origin.
The buyers premium is an additional percentage charge on the hammer price of the item, imposed by the auction house to cover administrative costs. The buyers premium percentage varies between auction houses, with a range of 12.5% to 22%.
