A large South German gothic polychrome painted iron wall clock, circa 1600

Description

The dial

The polychrome painted iron dial has Roman numerals. Above the chapter ring is a angel with an hour glass. The whole is painted in a renaissance window frame with columns to the side and ogee shaped cresting. This cresting follows the heavy moulded top rim of the dial which is surmounted by an ornamental flower. The whole is placed on a later

The movement

The frame of the fully iron movement has canted corner posts forming the feet at the bottom and which terminate above in arched tops with a ornamental knob. The movement is driven by weights and has a duration of fifteen hours. Because this clock was built before the invention of the pendulum the rate is not controlled by a pendulum but a foliot in combination with a verge escapement. The horizontal bar which has a mesmerizing motion has small weights which for adjusting the rate. The clock strikes the hours by means of a countwheel with inner teeth on a bell surmounted by an ornamental flower. The whole is placed on a later iron wall bracket.