A rare and highly decorative George III period English red japanned automaton table clock by this London maker.

The case is of elegant inverted bell-top form, surmounted by a brass carrying handle and set with four pineapple finials above a moulded cornice. It stands on a moulded base with four wooden block feet. The circular and shaped side apertures have finely pierced wooden frets, and the whole is richly japanned with chinoiserie panels of figures and landscapes against a latticework ground with silvered borders. The decorative scheme has a warm red ground and gilded ornamentation that gives the clock great presence.

The 8-inch arched silvered dial has an engraved Roman and Arabic chapter ring, with subsidiary dials for Rise/Fall and Strike/Silent. The centre is signed Joseph Lum, London and there is a date aperture above VI. The painted arch shows a couple on a see-saw before a building and a windmill. As the clock runs, the see-saw moves with the pendulum, and on the hour, or when the trip repeat is activated, the door to the building opens to reveal the figure of a man, while the sails of the windmill rotate for the duration of the strike.

The twin-fusee movement has five knopped pillars, verge escapement, and rack striking on a bell. There is a trip repeat, allowing the automaton display to be set in motion on demand. The backplate is engraved with a basket of flowers within foliate scrolls and chinoiserie-inspired trelliswork, a decorative treatment entirely in keeping with the japanned case.

Height: 20 ½ in (52 cm)

Joseph Lum is recorded on page 496 of Brian Loomes’ Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World: Complete 21^st Century Edition as working in London from 1745 until 1770.

HW6280