AN UNUSUAL VICTORIAN GILT BRASS MINIATURE SKELETON TIMEPIECE

AN UNUSUAL VICTORIAN GILT BRASS MINIATURE SKELETON TIMEPIECEH. Gloster, Coventry, dated 1864The single chain fusee movement with lever escapement regulated by sprung three-arm monometallic balance set beneath a fine foliate scroll decorated cock fitted with faceted diamond endstone positioned on the front of the movement above the dial and with engraved date AD 1864 to left hand margin the shaped fretwork frosted-gilt plates united by column-turned pillars at the top and sculpted block at the base, centred with a white enamel Roman numeral chapter ring over engraved signature H. Gloster, Coventry to lower section and raised on cavetto-shaped Siena marble base, with original oval-section glass dome cover resting on an ogee-moulded ebinised wood base with bun feet.The timepiece 12cm (4.75ins) high, 6cm (2.375ins) wide, 2.5cm (1ins) deep; the glass dome cover and base 7.5cm (19cm) high overall. The watchmaker H. Gloster of Coventry does not appear to be recorded in the usual sources. The current lot would appear to have been made by a watchmaker either perhaps as an apprentice piece or as one-off to demonstrate the application of watchmaking techniques to produce a small static desk timepiece.