98th Auction
2018/11/10
Lot 288
Master's Mark "SB" (Stephan Brenner, Copenhagen), Height 170 mm, dated 1563
A fragment of a small tabernacle clock dating from the late Renaissance period, with a single hand and hour strike - decorated with motifs from a series of copper engravings by Virgilius Solis "The Nine Worthies"
Case: bronze, firegilt, engraved, 1 hammer / 1 bell. Dial: applied brass chapter ring with Roman numerals "I-XII" and inner Arabic 24 hours as well as applied hour knobs for time reading by night, engraved centre, single blued iron hand. Movm.: iron frame, iron and brass going train, later chain/fusee for going train, gut/fusee for striking train, verge escapement and foliot are missing.
A stepped, finely polished black ebonised hardwood base of later addition with four gold bun feet supports the two telescoping parts of the case; which has a square, moulded stand with engraved strapwork. The year 1563 is engraved on the front with the initials "SB" for Stephan Brenner and the city arms of Copenhagen. A noble coat of arms with the initials "OB" in the centre of the dial refer to the original owner of the clock.
The three sides are engraved with motifs from a series of etchings "Nine heroes of history" by engraver and draughtsman Virgilius Solis (1514-1562) of Nuremberg: on the right, Judas Maccabaeus, a Jewish freedon fighter in the 2nd century B.C, on the back Saint Helena, the mother of Roman emperor Constantine, and on the left is Yael, killing an enemy of the people of Israel by driving a tent peg through his temple with a mallet.
According to Abeler‘s "Meister der Uhrmacherkunst", Stephan Brenner was most likely a German clockmaker who went to Copenhagen in 1554 and was eventually appointed maker to the court. He worked with Johan Sibe on pieces such as an astronomical clock dating from 1556. Creations by Brenner dating from 1556, 1561, 1576 and 1598 can be viewed in the national museum in Copenhagen; other clocks dating from 1558 to 1597 are held by distinguished national and international museums and private collections.
Provenance:
- The Richard and Erna Flagg Collection
- Sold at an auction at Christie's, London, "Important Clocks inc. the Flagg Collection", December 2001, lot 109
- Distinguished private collection in Vienna
A fragment of a small tabernacle clock dating from the late Renaissance period, with a single hand and hour strike - decorated with motifs from a series of copper engravings by Virgilius Solis "The Nine Worthies"
Case: bronze, firegilt, engraved, 1 hammer / 1 bell. Dial: applied brass chapter ring with Roman numerals "I-XII" and inner Arabic 24 hours as well as applied hour knobs for time reading by night, engraved centre, single blued iron hand. Movm.: iron frame, iron and brass going train, later chain/fusee for going train, gut/fusee for striking train, verge escapement and foliot are missing.
A stepped, finely polished black ebonised hardwood base of later addition with four gold bun feet supports the two telescoping parts of the case; which has a square, moulded stand with engraved strapwork. The year 1563 is engraved on the front with the initials "SB" for Stephan Brenner and the city arms of Copenhagen. A noble coat of arms with the initials "OB" in the centre of the dial refer to the original owner of the clock.
The three sides are engraved with motifs from a series of etchings "Nine heroes of history" by engraver and draughtsman Virgilius Solis (1514-1562) of Nuremberg: on the right, Judas Maccabaeus, a Jewish freedon fighter in the 2nd century B.C, on the back Saint Helena, the mother of Roman emperor Constantine, and on the left is Yael, killing an enemy of the people of Israel by driving a tent peg through his temple with a mallet.
According to Abeler‘s "Meister der Uhrmacherkunst", Stephan Brenner was most likely a German clockmaker who went to Copenhagen in 1554 and was eventually appointed maker to the court. He worked with Johan Sibe on pieces such as an astronomical clock dating from 1556. Creations by Brenner dating from 1556, 1561, 1576 and 1598 can be viewed in the national museum in Copenhagen; other clocks dating from 1558 to 1597 are held by distinguished national and international museums and private collections.
Provenance:
- The Richard and Erna Flagg Collection
- Sold at an auction at Christie's, London, "Important Clocks inc. the Flagg Collection", December 2001, lot 109
- Distinguished private collection in Vienna
Sold
estimated
10.000—20.000 €
Price realized
11.200 €