113rd Auction
2025/11/8
Lot 124
Anonymous
An important, portable, drum-shaped, single hand Renaissance clock watch presumably of Southern German origin. Very few of these earliest portable clock watches still exist today
Sold
estimated
4.000—6.000 €
Price realized
17.500 €
specific features
Case
Brass, firegilt, presumabely later pushed bottom, engraved on all sides, profiled edges.
Dial
Brass, firegilt, engraved chapter ring with Roman hours "I-XII" and Arabic numerals "1-24", 12 touch pieces for night reading, central engraved compass rose and sunray motif, single iron hand.
Movement
Iron, gut string/fusee, three wheel train, verge escapement, rim foliot.
Diam.37 x 57 mm
Circa1540
Ctry.Germany
The walls of this two-part cylindrical case are engraved with delicate floral and leaf tendrils, while the back features acanthus leaves against a hatched background.
A very similar drum watch was sold during our 87th auction (lot 167). It featured the monogram cartouche “M” with three dots. That same cartouche also appeared on an exact reproduction of a portable, single-handed Renaissance box watch from the 16th century, which we sold during our 108th auction (lot 312).