1920s English-Style Water Clock – Oak & Brass – John Barton 1696 Inscription

1920s English-Style Water Clock – Oak & Brass – John Barton 1696 Inscription

• Period: Circa 1920s, as catalogued

• Style: 17th-century English water clock

• Materials: Oak, brass and metal components

• Height: Approximately 62 cm

• Dial: Engraved brass, 24-hour Roman numeral display

• Mechanism: Decorative water-clock arrangement with suspended vessel and chains

• Condition: Aged patina, wear and marks consistent with age. Lower water reservoir missing. Operation untested; sold as an incomplete decorative collector's piece.

An unusual early 20th-century decorative water clock, constructed in the style of a 17th-century English clepsydra.

Featuring a circular engraved brass dial with Roman numerals and a single ornate pointer, the clock is mounted within a rustic oak frame with a suspended brass cylindrical chamber, chains and weight.

The lower brass plate bears the historic-style inscription John Barton 1696, together with a Latin motto traditionally translated as “God Leads Us.”

Although the inscription references the 17th century, the clock was catalogued by Dominic Winter Auctioneers as a reproduction dating to approximately the 1920s.

Details

A fascinating addition to a collection of antique clocks, scientific curiosities or historical mechanical instruments.

Available from Ember Antiques Art & Clocks, Perth, Western Australia.

Inspection by appointment.