162.     $250

Dutch Friesland one-handed stoelklok, ca. 1725-1825.  This is the earliest clock I have offered, and I know nothing about it.  Well, ok, maybe just a little.  My understanding is that they were made from about 1725 to 1825.  The oak case with cast lead trim is 30 inches tall and 10 inches deep.  The lead trim has been painted, more than once, and needs better care.  The large piece on the right side of the dial has broken off but could probably be restored to place with care (it is shown in place in the pictures).  The painted dial is badly in need of restoration but depicts a village across the top, flowers in the corners, and a couple of buildings in the middle.  The single hand is brass with numbers around the center, which I think relate to an alarm; however, the alarm hand has been lost.  The brass movement uses a crown wheel escapement (there, see – I know something) and there is a second crown wheel escapement that, again, I think relates to the alarm.  There is a large iron bell on top the movement that will count the hours and a second two-headed hammer that sounds like an alarm to me when I push some levers.  There is a wire pendulum suspended behind the movement with an arm that swings back and forth with the pendulum, but I can’t get the clock to run, and I think an adjustment is needed here.  There is a single brass 7.5-lb weight that drives the time-and-strike trains; I think it runs 8 days.  There are two doors with glass on either side of the movement. There is a small weight (and counterweight) for the alarm.  ‘Stoelklok’ means ‘seated clock’ which refers to the wood case that hangs from the wall with the four turned feet that support the platform the movement sits on.  Did you know that the pendulum clock was invented by Christiaan Huygens in Holland in 1656, not long before this clock was made?  Neither did I.  Friesland refers to a northern province in the Netherlands.  If you search LiveAuctioneers for “stoelklok” you can find many similar examples, most of which have sold in Europe for $500 and up.  I’ll bet you can get this one for less.  $250-$500.