Furniture, Works of Art & Clocks - 11th August 2020
Lot 459
A RARE FRENCH BRASS AND SILVERED TORPEDO INDUSTRIAL TIMEPIECE WITH AUTOMATON LATE 19TH / EARLY...
Estimate £8,000 - £12,000 | Hammer £30000
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Description
A RARE FRENCH BRASS AND SILVERED TORPEDO INDUSTRIAL TIMEPIECE WITH AUTOMATON
LATE 19TH / EARLY 20TH CENTURY
with an automaton propeller, the eight day brass drum movement with a lever escapement, stamped '4624' and '93', the silvered dial with Roman numerals and pierced hands, the case in the form of a torpedo hung on chains with pullies, the base with nautical themed decoration, an anchor, a life buoy, a shell and a ship's wheel, the centre inset with a compass, signed 'Radiguet Paris', on a stepped rosso antico marble base and turned brass feet
36.2cm high, 46.2cm wide
LITERATURE
Derek Roberts, Mystery, Novelty & Fantasy Clocks, p.256, fig.22-6, c. for a similar example.
CATALOGUE NOTE
This model was probably based on the Whitehead torpedo, the world's first self-propelled torpedo.