Late seventeenth century Dutch longcase clock with walnut veneered oak case. Frieze, side panels and lenticle surround are carved in shapes of acanthus leaf, flower and branch motives. The cresting on the hood is similarly carved, with eagles on the corners and a statue in the middle representing Vanitas in the form of a youth with a violin on which a skull rests (transitoriness). He stands with one foot on a sphere with bandwork and a cross, respectively representing the world and ecclesiastical power (orb). The dial, engraved around the edges and cherub-head spandrels in the corners, has a silvered chapter ring with Roman hour, half-hour, quarter hour, Arabic five-minute and minute division. The seconds are indicated on a separate ring, while the date, the day and the sign of the day are shown in an aperture below the centre of the dial. The week-going movement has going work with anchor escapement and seconds pendulum. The striking work, with a count wheel mounted on the ground wheel, indicates the hours fully and the half hours with one stroke on a bell. The clock is also fitted with alarm, with a silvered alarm disc behind the hands. The maker: Fromanteel Size in cm; Height: 250 cm Width: 50 cm. Depth: 27 cm. Literature: G.H. Baillie, Watch & Clockmakers of the World, Volume I, p. 115. Britten, Old Clocks and Watches and their Makers, p. 400. E. L. Edwardes, The Story of the Pendulum Clock, pp. 55, 56. Brian Loomes, The Early Clockmakers of Great Britain, pp. 175, 179. Brian Loomes, Watch & Clockmakers of the World, Volume 2, p. 83.

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