108th Auction
2023/5/20
Lot 310
Nikolaus Schmidt der Ältere
A rare, very large, one-handed, octagonal Augsburg Renaissance watch with hour strike
estimated
18.000—25.000 €
Price realized
-
specific features
Case
Brass and copper, remains of firegilding, engraved, openwork centre on the back side, lid with later bell.
Dial
Silver, Roman numerals, engraved view of a town in the centre, later single iron hand.
Movement
Octagonal brass full plate movement, initial "NS" within a shield for Nicolaus Schmidt the Elder, 2 barrels, verge escapement, locking plate with internal teeth, 1 hammer, stackfreed, foliot and hog's bristle.
Diam.97 x 68 mm
Circa1600
Ctry.Germany
Wt.421 g
Nikolaus Schmidt the Elder was born in 1549 in Wiltz in Luxembourg and established his own business in Augsburg in 1576. There is no record of his death; however, we can assume that he died sometime between 1625 and 1629. His son Nikolaus Schmidt the Younger was also a renowned maker. Several of Schmidt’s timekeepers are in important museums all over the world, e.g. the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Historisches Museum in Basle.
Nikolaus Schmidt the Elder is recorded in "Meister der Uhrmacherkunst" by Juergen Abeler, 2nd edition, Wuppertal 2010, p. 503.