Y A REGENCY MINIATURE BRASS MOUNTED EBONY MANTEL TIMEPIECE5

Y A REGENCY MINIATURE BRASS MOUNTED EBONY MANTEL TIMEPIECEJAMES MURRAY, LONDON, CIRCA 1825The eight-day single fusee movement with anchor escapement regulated by discbob pendulum, the backplate signed James Murray, Royal Exchange, London,the arched foliate scroll engraved gilt brass dial applied with white enamelRoman numeral hour disc further signed JAMES MURRAY, ROYAL EXCHANGE, LONDON tocentre, the rectangular case with flush hinged carrying handle to top over cavettocornice, arched side glasses and skirt base with brass feet18cm (7ins) high, 12cm (4.75ins) wideProvenance:Walter Horace Samuel, 2nd Viscount Bearsted, Upton House, Banbury, Oxon, and bydescentMarcus, 1st Viscount Bearsted, with his brother Samuel, madehis fortune trading with the Far East, before founding the oil company Shell.The Bearsted collections were started in the 1890's when the 1st Viscountbought Lord Romney's house in Kent complete with all its contents, whichincluded fine English pictures and furniture; it is therefore possible thatthis handsomely austere clock also came from the Romney collection.James Murray was born in 1780, he gained his freedom of theClockmakers’ Company in 1815, was elevated to the Livery in 1817 and is thoughtto have worked until his death in 1847. He is perhaps best known as a maker ofmarine chronometers and other precision timekeepers; James Weddell took threechronometers supplied by Murray on his Antarctic expedition 1822-4.Several others of this pattern are recorded, including theapparent pair to this timepiece, with Brigadier Meyrick Neilson, Tetbury,illustrated in Apollo, June 1973, page 7; another, with AnthonyWoodburn, Kent, in 2009, (£10,000); another, sold Mc Tears Auctioneers,Glasgow, 1 February 2019, lot 1438. Two others signed Barraud & Lund, inalmost identical ebonised and gilt-bronze cases having the samefoliate-engraved arched gilt-brass dial are recorded; one was exhibited byRonald Phillips Ltd, Bruton Street, at the 2007 Grosvenor House Antique DealersFair (priced £19,000); another was with Tobias Birch, Evesham, in 2018 (priced£19,000).

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