1850 Dent Carriage Clock with Coutts Family Provenance

A rare Dent (late Arnold and Dent) carriage clock, date 1850,…
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A rare Dent (late Arnold and Dent) carriage clock, date 1850, the movement with twin chain fusee drive, the plate signed 'Dent, late Arnold and Dent' with the 82 strand, London address and serial number 480, suggesting an origin not long after the dissolution of the Arnold and Dent partnership in the latter half of 1840. It strikes hours and half hours on a gong and has subsidiary day and date dials. All dials are engine turned and silvered. Working. With original carrying case with Cmm and 1850 to the lid. Provenance: Ex. Coutts family descendants (of the Queen's bank in the UK). The unique design on the back of the clock case (as well as the lid of the original leather carrying case for the clock) shows the initials Cmm and the date 1850. The family advised the vendor that the clock almost certainly belonged to Clara Maria money (nee Burdett), the daughter of Sir Francis Burdett, and related to Thomas Burdett, (who was in the British government). According to the Coutts bank Wikipedia page, Clara Maria was a sister of Angela Burdett-Coutts, who inherited much of the assets of the Coutts bank but was later forced to divest much of those assets when, against covenants of the inheritance, she insisted on marrying someone outside the UK. Much of the assets then went to Clara Maria, who by this time had married James money and who subsequently became Clara Maria Money-Coutts so as to qualify for the inheritance. Interestingly, Clara Maria Burdett married James money in 1850, so possibly this clock was a wedding gift to her. Sold Webb's 2013.

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  • Engine Turned - Engine turning is a decorative technique used on metal surfaces to create intricate curving or geometric pattern. The process involves cutting a series of lines into the surface of the metal using a rose engine or decoration lathe which rotates the metal as it cuts, allowing the operator to create a repeating pattern that covers the entire surface. The resulting surface has a shimmering, reflective quality that is often described as "engine turned." Where an engine turned item has been enamelled, the term used to describe the decoration is usually guilloche.

    Engine turning was originally developed to decorate metal objects such as firearms, scientific instruments, and other metal objects that required precise and elegant design.
  • Movement - The technical name for the workings of a clock or watch, and does not include the dial or case.
  • Fusee - The fusee movement was used in clocks and pocket watches from the mid 17th century. The fusee is a cone shaped drum within the works that is linked to the barrel of the spring, usually by a length of chain.

    As the mainspring loses its tension over time, the cone shaped barrel compensates for this by increasing the tension, by pulling the mainspring tighter, thus ensuring the time remains constant.

    Use of the fusee in clocks was superseded by the "going barrel" in the mid 19th century and for pocket watches at the beginning of the 19th century.

    The fusee continued to be used in marine chronometers until the 1970s.
  • Date Aperture - A date aperture is a cut out section in the face of a watch or clock, displaying the day of the month.

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