29th Apr, 2009 12:00
Maritime and Scientific Models, Instruments & Art ('Popham)
166
[M] AN HISTORICALLY INTERESTING CLOCK HOUSING AND...
AN HISTORICALLY INTERESTING CLOCK HOUSING AND ANEROID BAROMETER SET FROM THE FAMOUS TEA CLIPPER ARIEL, 1865
with 5¾in dial plate signed J. Muirhead & Sons Glasgow, bevelled glass access; the 4in. aneroid barometer signed Negretti & Zambra set above, both mounted on a nickel-plated anchor engraved on the flukes ARIEL 1865 and further stamped on the verso 'BM/ESNT' -- 17¾in. (45cm.) high; together with typed provenance signed Jas C. Thomas
Provenance: The signed provenance accompanying this lot reads: According to a dilapidated label attached to the clock when found (1930) it had been "Left at... Cairns, New York, for repairs when (and?) the "Ariel" sailed for Sydney and was lost at sea. Restored (Retuned?) to the owner, June 1873.
The Ariel was a composite iron and wood built clipper of 853 tons and of a type only made for thirty years or so. Built by Robert Steele & Co. of Greenock, she cost the enormous sum of £15,350 to build, but lived up to her expectations when she sailed from Foochow to London in 97 days. She was lost on a voyage from London to Sydney in 1872, the clock repairers presumably not bothering to complete work they would not be paid for returned an empty case to the owner, now a rare souvenir of one of the great tea clippers of the golden age.
with 5¾in dial plate signed J. Muirhead & Sons Glasgow, bevelled glass access; the 4in. aneroid barometer signed Negretti & Zambra set above, both mounted on a nickel-plated anchor engraved on the flukes ARIEL 1865 and further stamped on the verso 'BM/ESNT' -- 17¾in. (45cm.) high; together with typed provenance signed Jas C. Thomas
Provenance: The signed provenance accompanying this lot reads: According to a dilapidated label attached to the clock when found (1930) it had been "Left at... Cairns, New York, for repairs when (and?) the "Ariel" sailed for Sydney and was lost at sea. Restored (Retuned?) to the owner, June 1873.
The Ariel was a composite iron and wood built clipper of 853 tons and of a type only made for thirty years or so. Built by Robert Steele & Co. of Greenock, she cost the enormous sum of £15,350 to build, but lived up to her expectations when she sailed from Foochow to London in 97 days. She was lost on a voyage from London to Sydney in 1872, the clock repairers presumably not bothering to complete work they would not be paid for returned an empty case to the owner, now a rare souvenir of one of the great tea clippers of the golden age.
Sold for £372
Estimated at £400 - £600
(inc. buyer's premium of 24%)
AN HISTORICALLY INTERESTING CLOCK HOUSING AND ANEROID BAROMETER SET FROM THE FAMOUS TEA CLIPPER ARIEL, 1865
with 5¾in dial plate signed J. Muirhead & Sons Glasgow, bevelled glass access; the 4in. aneroid barometer signed Negretti & Zambra set above, both mounted on a nickel-plated anchor engraved on the flukes ARIEL 1865 and further stamped on the verso 'BM/ESNT' -- 17¾in. (45cm.) high; together with typed provenance signed Jas C. Thomas
Provenance: The signed provenance accompanying this lot reads: According to a dilapidated label attached to the clock when found (1930) it had been "Left at... Cairns, New York, for repairs when (and?) the "Ariel" sailed for Sydney and was lost at sea. Restored (Retuned?) to the owner, June 1873.
The Ariel was a composite iron and wood built clipper of 853 tons and of a type only made for thirty years or so. Built by Robert Steele & Co. of Greenock, she cost the enormous sum of £15,350 to build, but lived up to her expectations when she sailed from Foochow to London in 97 days. She was lost on a voyage from London to Sydney in 1872, the clock repairers presumably not bothering to complete work they would not be paid for returned an empty case to the owner, now a rare souvenir of one of the great tea clippers of the golden age.
with 5¾in dial plate signed J. Muirhead & Sons Glasgow, bevelled glass access; the 4in. aneroid barometer signed Negretti & Zambra set above, both mounted on a nickel-plated anchor engraved on the flukes ARIEL 1865 and further stamped on the verso 'BM/ESNT' -- 17¾in. (45cm.) high; together with typed provenance signed Jas C. Thomas
Provenance: The signed provenance accompanying this lot reads: According to a dilapidated label attached to the clock when found (1930) it had been "Left at... Cairns, New York, for repairs when (and?) the "Ariel" sailed for Sydney and was lost at sea. Restored (Retuned?) to the owner, June 1873.
The Ariel was a composite iron and wood built clipper of 853 tons and of a type only made for thirty years or so. Built by Robert Steele & Co. of Greenock, she cost the enormous sum of £15,350 to build, but lived up to her expectations when she sailed from Foochow to London in 97 days. She was lost on a voyage from London to Sydney in 1872, the clock repairers presumably not bothering to complete work they would not be paid for returned an empty case to the owner, now a rare souvenir of one of the great tea clippers of the golden age.
Auction: Maritime and Scientific Models, Instruments & Art ('Popham), 29th Apr, 2009
