4.        $1000

Andries Vermeulen Dutch tall-case clock, ca. 1740.  Vermeulen lived and worked in Amsterdam in the early 1700’s and is regarded as the city’s best clockmaker of the period.  His clocks are highly regarded and have been offered at several high-end American and European auction houses.  You can find a smattering of his tall case clocks on the internet, all having a similar case style and typically with complications; this one has a music cylinder attached to the third arbor but, unfortunately, the comb is missing and thus cannot play.  It is running and striking.  The walnut-veneered case is 98 inches tall and has been stripped but not finished; there are some places where the 300-year old veneer has been repaired, and some spots where it needs to be glued down.  On the top right and left side are cut-outs that I think should be covered with a grill cloth; the glasses in the hood door and sides are old.  The brass dial has a matted center, a calendar window, a second’s dial, and is signed “Andries Vermeulen ~ Amsterdam” at the bottom.  The arched moon dial has a hand indicator that rotates with the dial and points to one of 12 labeled divisions on the brass frame, but I don’t know what the labels mean (“pistolet”?). I believe the hand is supposed to flip back when it completes a half-circle.  The moon dial also has two number rings, one of which is numbered 1-12.  Lacking a horological degree, I have no clue what they mean.  There are two old cast iron weights and there should be a third for the chime arbor, but it is not strung because the musical mechanism is incomplete.  This is a very old clock, highly collectable, but will need considerable attention to both the case and movement to get it presentable. $1000-$2500.