~ Early 20th Century Tramp Art Pendulum Clock ~
A lovely pendulum clock and a fabulous example of Tramp Art.
The design of this piece is based on a Gothic style clock tower.
The piece is made of a dark stained wood carved in a highly decorative manner with a notched, textured finish typical
of the Tramp Art style.
The tower has an ‘open’ style base where the pendulum is housed, with lancet arches, decorative roundels and small
velvet covered panels. The interior is fitted with red velvet to the base and a mirror to the back wall.
The clock dial itself is housed half way up the tower, framed by columns topped with conical turrets.
There are four of these turreted columns, one to each corner.
The top of the piece has a ‘Bell tower’ spire, again featuring lancet arches around the circumference.
The clock has a black dial with a decorative gilt border. It has gilt Roman numeral hours and two gilt brass hands. It is
protected by a brass edged bevelled glass cover.
The clock movement can be accessed by a sliding panel door to the rear of the piece. The movement is marked with a
serial number of ‘3450’. It dates to around the 1880’s. The clock comes with a key.
The piece is fitted with electric lights. Small bulbs hang from metalwork brackets to the front columns, with others
situated within the bell tower, the base where the pendulum is housed and above the clock dial.
Although the movement dates to the 1880’s, the housing is a probably a little later in date (early 1900’s possibly as
late as 1930) we believe simply due to it being fitted with electric lights, which appear to be original to the piece.
~ Dimensions ~
The clock dial has a diameter of 11cm (4.25 inches).
The piece measures 20cm (8 inches) by 20cm (8 inches) with a height of 74cm (29 inches).
It weighs 4.55 Kg.
~ Condition ~
The velvet panels have wear and some parts of the housing have a couple of missing strips of wood. There are also a
couple of chips, but due to the ornate nature of the piece the majority of these damages are not obvious to the eye.
The lights are not in working order though the wiring is mostly still in place*.
The clock has been serviced and is in good working order.
Considering the age and delicate nature of the piece, overall this clock is in a very nice condition and just needs a bit
of a clean.
* The electrics have not been tested. As with all second hand electrical goods, we recommend the purchaser have it
electrically tested by a professional before use – we do not offer this service and it is sold on that basis. *
~ Tramp Art ~
Tramp Art was an art movement found throughout the world where small pieces of wood, primarily from discarded
cigar boxes and shipping crates, were whittled into layers of geometric shapes, having the outside edges of each
layer notch-carved, or in the technique of a ‘Crown of Thorns’. It was popular in the years between the 1870s to the
1940s when the art form started to decline.
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