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Auction 110
Lot 245

110th Auction

2024/5/18

Lot 245

Hans Koch zugeschr./attr. to

An ornamental Munich Renaissance tabernacle clock with hour strike and alarm

estimated
16.000—18.000 €
Price realized
-
specific features
Case
Brass and copper, firegilt; punched and engraved ornamentation, corner pilasters, bell on top with 4 urns at the corners surmounted by Justitia as surmounting figure (scale is missing), 2 hammers/1 bell, short pendulum, later square ebonized wooden base with brass fittings and drawer.
Dial
Front - applied chapter ring with Roman hours "I-XII" and Arabic numerals 13-24, applied hour knobs for time reading by night, central alarm disc with engraved flower, single iron hand. Back - applied hour strike control dial with ornamented centre; single iron hand.
Movement
Iron frame, iron train, 2 florally engraved brass barrels, verge escapement.
Diam.260 mm
Circa1600
Ctry.Germany


Both side panels can be removed. The left is engraved with Maria Immaculata, while the right side shows the Crucifixion of Jesus. The upper half of the main dial is exquisitely engraved with tendrils while the lower half shows the Birth of Christ. The back is similarly ornamented and shows the Annunciation.


Maker to the court Hans Koch of Munich became a master metalworker and member of the guild in 1554. He was soon after employed by the House of Wittelsbach as a watchmaker, and the bills recorded in the court account books of 1556 show that he was well paid for his work at court. In 1581 Hans Koch applied for the position of maker to the court for the first time but it was 1588 before Duke William V (1579-1597) appointed him as successor of Ulrich Schniep, who was deceased. The court account books list Koch until his death in 1603. Hans Koch was an ingenious maker who was well known beyond the borders of Bavaria.