ITALY A late Renaissance Italian night clock with painted dial and ebonised fruitwood case, c. 1680. Dimensions: 40 x 29 x 11.5 cm. An Italian night clock in an ebonised fruitwood case with broken architectural top and a moulded base, c 1680. Behind the glazed door a copper dial shows a painted lake view with a gentleman in the foreground. Above the middle there is a semi-circular aperture behind which a disc revolves, turning full circle in six hours and showing the numerals 1-6 from left to right (wandering hours). The quarter and half-quarter hours are indicated along the top of the semi-circle while the position of the hour numeral functions as the pointer. All indications and marks are fretted so that when a burning candle or oil lamp is placed on a shelf at the back of the clock in front of an aperture, they light up, allowing the time to be read during the night. The 21-hour duration movement has verge escapement, a short pendulum fixed to the verge and is driven by a spring in a spring barrel via a gut fusee. • Dimensions: 40 x 29 x 11.5 cm.

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