Beschreibung:

An important Queen Anne ebonised eight-day longcase clock Michael Knight, London, circa 1705 The substantial five fully latched and crisply turned finned pillar rack and bell striking movement with anchor escapement regulated by seconds pendulum with long crutch, the backplate with apertures cut for the pallets and for viewing the countwheel locking detent, with finely detailed steelwork incorporating Tompionesque scroll terminals to bell stand and hammer spring feet, the 12 inch square brass dial with subsidiary seconds dial, ringed calendar aperture and winding holes to the matted centre within applied silvered Roman numeral chapter ring with cruciform half hour markers, Arabic five minutes to outer track and signed MICH KNIGHT, LONDINI FECIT to lower edge, with pierced steel hands and double-screwed gilt twin cherub and crown cast spandrels to angles with foliate scroll engraved infill to margins between, the ebonised case with gilt brass ball finials to the ogee shaped caddy surmounted fine foliate fretwork fronted box upstand above moulded cornice and further conforming foliate pierced fret to frieze, generous three-quarter columns with gilt caps and bases to glazed hood door, the sides with rectangular sound frets and rear quarter columns each set against bargeboard rising up to the underside of the cornice projection, the trunk with convex throat above 41.5 inch rectangular door, on ogee moulded plinth base applied with two-tier moulded skirt, 245cm (96.5ins) high excluding finials, 252cm (99.25ins) high overall. Michael Knight is recorded in Loomes, Brian Clockmakers of Britain 1286-1700 as born circa 1659; he was apprenticed to Thomas Tompion (bound 1673/4 through Lionel Wythe) and took up his freedom of the Clockmakers' Company after a warning to do so in 1681. Michael Knight took apprentices Thomas Day in 1682 (Freed 1691), Robert Youell (through Tompion - Freed 1697) and John Barnardiston in 1697 (Freed 1714). In 1697 Knight signed the Oath of Allegiance but little is known of him after 1699 when he stopped paying quarterage to the Clockmakers' Company. The location of Michael Knight's workshop is indicated in an article by Evans, Jeremy MAINSPRING MAKERS OF LONDON AND LIVERPOOL - SOME OBSERVATIONS AND LISTS published in ANTIQUARIAN HOROLOGY Vol XXVII, No. 1, Page 81 where reference under the entry for Micklewright indicates that the latter was believed to have been working in St. Sepulchres - 'in Red Cross Court next-door but one to Tompion's ex-apprentice Michael Knight'. Of Michael Knight only around ten surviving clocks are known listed in Evans, Jeremy; Carter, Jonathan and Wright, Ben THOMAS TOMPION 300 YEARS. Most of these examples demonstrate a very close working relationship with Tompion with at least two reflecting an aptitude for producing work equal to Tompion's finest products. The first of these is an fine half quarter-repeating ebony table clock of typical 'Tompion phase II' design illustrated in ANTIQUARIAN HOROLOGY Vol X, No. 7, on Pages 782-83. The second is an important eight-day longcase clock (in a private collection) complete with Tompion pull-quarter repeat mechanism and housed in a fine walnut case closely resembling that of the 'Drayton Tompion' (which now resides at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge and is illustrated by Evans, Carter and Wright on page 510). When considering the strong similarity of Knight's work alongside that of his former Master coupled with the fact that there are very few clocks signed by him (despite his long career) it most likely that he was primarily employed by Tompion. Indeed the complexity and accomplished nature of the two examples noted above would suggest that he assisted Tompion with his more complex commissions. The movement of the current lot is almost indistinguishable from Tompion's work exhibiting an abundance of features diagnostic of his workshop. These include the back cock casting (with distinctive chamfered feet), pallet and countwheel locking d