With a pendulum, two weights, and three keys. 

8 ft. 2 x 20 1/2 x 11 in. 

Note from the Metropolitan Museum of Art:

While the Fromanteel family was instrumental to introducing the pendulum clock into England, other English clockmakers subsequently made improvements. These improvements culminated in the widespread adoption of the seconds-beating or long pendulum with an anchor escapement, a much more accurate timekeeper than the earlier short pendulum with verge escapement. Whether the inventor was William Clement (1633–1704), Robert Hooke (1635–1703), or, most probably, Joseph Knibb (1640–1711), the development took shape in England after 1670. Within about five years, English clockmakers working in the Netherlands began making longcase clocks that incorporated the improved pendulum. One of the first of these expatriate clockmakers, Joseph Norris (1649/50–after 1696), probably settled in Amsterdam about 1675. As early as 1680, he was making weight-driven movements with long pendulums, which were housed in tall wooden cases. Some of his clocks had crests of carved acanthus leaves and freestanding baroque columns that flanked the doors to their almost, but not quite, English dials.[1] The identity of the Dutch cabinetmaker is not known, but similar cases contain movements by another English expatriate, Ahasuerus II Fromanteel (1640–1703), as well as the Dutchmen Steven Huygens (ca. 1653–1720) and Pieter Klock (1665– 1754).[2] These clocks constitute a remarkable group of some of the earliest longcase clocks made in the Netherlands.

The history of the Fromanteel family of clockmakers remains a subject of contention, but Ahasuerus II Fromanteel, the second son of Ahasuerus I Fromanteel (1607–1693), was undoubtedly born in 1640 in London, where he apprenticed as a clockmaker. He moved to The Hague sometime between 1677 and 1681, as he is mentioned as being there at various times between 1677 and 1684. He became a burgher in 1683.[3] Alternatively, he is thought to have established a business in Amsterdam in 1681 with his brother John Fromanteel (1638–1692) in the Vijgendam, now part of the Dam Square near the Rokin.[4] The next record finds him in Amsterdam in 1693, and in the following year, his daughter, Anne, married the expatriate English clockmaker Christopher Clarke (1668–1734). Together, they operated in Amsterdam as Fromanteel and Clarke until Fromanteel’s death in 1703, but Clarke apparently retained the double name until 1722.[5]

Notes (For key to shortened references see bibliography in Vincent and Leopold, European Clocks and Watches in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. NY: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2015)



[1] Leopold 1989, pp. 160–61, 165, n. 25; Zeeman 1996, pp. 11, 472–73.

[2] For examples, see Zeeman 1996, pp. 12, 20–31, 35–37, 50.

[3] Leopold 1989, p. 160.

[4] Zeeman 1996, p. 465; Vehmeyer 2004, vol. 2, pp. 965–66.

[5] Leopold 1989, p. 160; Zeeman 1996, p. 462.

Literature: Loomes, B. (2006), Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World, N.A.G. Press, London.

Britten, F.J. (1986), Old Clocks and Watches and Their Makers - A History of Styles in Clocks and Watches and their Mechanisms, Bloomsbury Books, London. 

Morpurgo, E. (1970), "Nederlandse klokken- en horlogemakers vanaf 1300", Schltema & Holkema, Amsterdam.

Richard Garnier & Leo Hollis, (2018), 'Innovation & collaboration: the early development of the pendulum clock in London.'

In good overall condition, with scattered minor age splits, and small veneer patches and replacements throughout. Minor losses to the molding around the top right corner and to the veneer and molding on the front of the cabinet. The clock face with a few areas of minor staining. The pendulum with scattered verdigris patination. Plinth and feet of a later date, and refinished throughout. Evidence of old worming, and structurally sound.

Notwithstanding this report or any discussion concerning condition of a lot, all lots are offered and sold "as is" in accordance with our conditions of sale.