98th Auction
2018/11/10
Lot 260
Master's Mark "NS" (Nicolaus Schmidt the Elder), Augsburg, 65 x 31 mm, 292 g, circa 1580
An important, single-handed pre-balance spring Renaissance pendant watch with hour strike
Case: bronze, firegilt, tiered, pierced and lavishly florally ornamented, rear bell. Dial: bronze, firegilt, radial Roman numerals "I-XII" and Arabic numerals "13-24", applied hour knobs for time reading by night, engraved foliate scrolls in the centre, single iron hand. Movm.: firegilt brass full plate movement, maker's mark:
"NS" within a shield, iron trains, verge escapement, locking plate with internal teeth, solid movement pillars, stackfreed, foliot and hog's bristle.
This fine timepiece of museum quality is in virtually untouched original condition. The minor repairs carried out over time are negligible.
The open-work case is engraved with flowers that seemingly rise from a vase on the back and a pierced arabesque decorated front lid reveals the hour numerals on the dial. The bezel is open worked and acts as a sound hole for the hour strike on a nickel-plated bronze bell embedded in the caseback.
A pendant watch with identical movement stamped "NS" (Nikolaus Schmidt the Elder) is illustrated and described in Klaus Maurice’s book, "Die deutsche Räderuhr" (German mechanical watches), Vol. II, Fig. 438a/b, p. 61; another round, early pendant watch with stackfreed and similar case design is owned by the G. W. Willis Museum in Basingstoke in England.
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.
Source: https://watch-wiki.org/index.php?title=Schmidt,_Nikolaus_der_%C3%84ltere, as of 10/08/2015.
Nikolaus Schmidt the Elder is recorded in "Meister der Uhrmacherkunst" by Juergen Abeler, 2nd edition, Wuppertal 2010, p. 503.
Provanance:
- Moyer Fleisher Collection, USA, March 1946.
- This watch was sold at Sotheby’s in New York in October 2003, lot 114.
- Renowned private collection in Vienna
An important, single-handed pre-balance spring Renaissance pendant watch with hour strike
Case: bronze, firegilt, tiered, pierced and lavishly florally ornamented, rear bell. Dial: bronze, firegilt, radial Roman numerals "I-XII" and Arabic numerals "13-24", applied hour knobs for time reading by night, engraved foliate scrolls in the centre, single iron hand. Movm.: firegilt brass full plate movement, maker's mark:
"NS" within a shield, iron trains, verge escapement, locking plate with internal teeth, solid movement pillars, stackfreed, foliot and hog's bristle.
This fine timepiece of museum quality is in virtually untouched original condition. The minor repairs carried out over time are negligible.
The open-work case is engraved with flowers that seemingly rise from a vase on the back and a pierced arabesque decorated front lid reveals the hour numerals on the dial. The bezel is open worked and acts as a sound hole for the hour strike on a nickel-plated bronze bell embedded in the caseback.
A pendant watch with identical movement stamped "NS" (Nikolaus Schmidt the Elder) is illustrated and described in Klaus Maurice’s book, "Die deutsche Räderuhr" (German mechanical watches), Vol. II, Fig. 438a/b, p. 61; another round, early pendant watch with stackfreed and similar case design is owned by the G. W. Willis Museum in Basingstoke in England.
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.
Source: https://watch-wiki.org/index.php?title=Schmidt,_Nikolaus_der_%C3%84ltere, as of 10/08/2015.
Nikolaus Schmidt the Elder is recorded in "Meister der Uhrmacherkunst" by Juergen Abeler, 2nd edition, Wuppertal 2010, p. 503.
Provanance:
- Moyer Fleisher Collection, USA, March 1946.
- This watch was sold at Sotheby’s in New York in October 2003, lot 114.
- Renowned private collection in Vienna
Sold
estimated
20.000—40.000 €
Price realized
13.700 €