Lot 194

Italian, 670 x 440 x 140 mm, circa 1660
An unusual early ebonised night clock "Mary Magdalene as Penitent"
Case: ebonised fruitwood, partly gilt. Dial: copper, polychrome painted. Movm.: rectangular brass full plate movement, 1 barrel, 1 hammer / 1 bell, count wheel, verge escapement, short pendulum with knife edge suspension.
The altar-shaped and intricately moulded case with broken pediment is elaborately decorated with carved and gold-set, baroque-style ornamentation. Leaf festoons and winged cherub heads as well as volutes and rocailles swirl around the copper dial, which is painted with a polychrome portrait of a penitent Mary Magdalene - a popular motif in the 17th century. Her upper body is exposed and she gazes at heaven with her hands folded, lost in reverie. Close to her lie an open bible and a skull as a symbol of vanity. Above her head an arched cutout reveals the rotating hour disc with red Roman hours showing the hours of day and night - at night, illuminated by an oil lamp inside the case. The back of the case is fitted with a metal-cased funnel and a device for the oil lamp is provided inside the case.