This important gothic musical clock was the result of a remarkable collaboration between a music box maker, a clockmaker and a cabinetmaker, each one a master of their craft. Nicole Frères, the finest music box makers of the period, created the complex, dual-cylinder piano mandoline musical movements hidden in the plinth. Each lever-wound cylinder plays eight airs and produces the complex and high-quality for which Nicole Frères is renowned.
The celebrated clockmaking firm of A.B. Savory & Sons provided the clockworks for this ingenious mechanism. The highly complex fusee movement chimes on eight bells and strikes on a gong. Both the clock and musical movement are nestled in an extraordinary and monumental oak gothic case on stand by Gillet & Bland, Croydon. Impressive in its construction, the case features stepped gables, finely carved finials and gargoyles, and quadruple column legs. Designed to stand either against a wall or in the center of the room, this unique musical timepiece is both a visual and musical masterpiece.
Established in Geneva in 1814, the firm of Nicole Frères is credited with introducing important refinements that greatly enhanced musical quality in cylinder music boxes. The result is an array of music boxes of the utmost caliber, featuring masterfully crafted mechanisms of outstanding sound quality such as this example.
Signed "A. B. Savory & Sons / 11 & 12 Cornhill" on dial
Stamped "Gillet & Bland, Croydon" on base and case
Circa 1860
63" high x 44 1/2" wide
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