A George III period ebonised and brass mounted automaton table clock by Thomas Grinnard, London, c. 1770. The moulded ebonised case has a bell top, surmounted by a brass urn flambeau finial, flanked by pierced brass frets and, on the four corners, four further matching vase flambeau finials. The sides of the case have pierced wooden sound frets, brass carrying handles and on the corners elaborate caryatids, with cascading flowers and foliage. The clock is raised on gilded brass scrolling foliage feet. The arched brass dial has a silvered chapter ring around a matted centre, which shows three winding holes, a date aperture and a silvered signature cartouche signed Thos Grinnard High Holborn No 12. In the arch is a painted country scene depicting a couple playing tennis, with moving rackets and a mock pendulum masquerading as a tennis ball. The verge movement of eight-day duration has a finely engraved back-plate. The clock strikes the hours on a single bell and the quarters and half hours on a set of eight bells. • Height: 64 cm (25in). • The maker, Thomas Grinnard, was active in the second half of the eighteenth century. • Literature: B. Loomes, Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World, London, 2006, p. 326.