French astronomical octagonal pocket watch Circa 1690

Pocket watch in the octagonal Renaissance-style case
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A French astronomical pocket watch in the octagonal Renaissance-style case of an early pendant watch, circa 1690.
Bronze case, fire gilt, pierced. Silver dial, champlevé, radial Roman hours, outer date ring, central lunar calendar and aperture for moon phase with engraved moon phase disc, single hand made of blued steel. Full plate brass movement, applied floral decorations, chain/fusee, verge escapement, tulip pillars, three-arm steel balance, fine florally engraved, pierced balance cock.
The open-work front cover is decorated with gothic-style finial ornamentation and a central Christogram “IHS”. Both front and back bezel are engraved with floral scrolls. The band is also open-work in baluster form, which implies that the original movement had a striking mechanism.
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Diameter: 66 mm
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Weight: 183 g
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Signed: Unknown French Master / Johann Kuhlmann, Osnabrück
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Early Renaissance-style cases were usually perfectly finished by skilled craftsmen; these pieces were not only highly valued at the time but also generally admired as works of art in the centuries that followed. This watch case is a perfect example of such a treasure – it was recognised as such in the second half of the 17th century and fitted with a contemporary movement by Johann Kuhlmann of Osnabrück.
Provenance:
* Collection Au Vieux Cadran, Paris
* Sold at an auction at Parke Bernet, New York, 03/15/1968, lot no. 10
* Albert Odmark Collection, Seattle
* Sold at an auction at Christie’s, London, “The Albert Odmark Collection of important clocks and watches”, March 2005
* Distinguished private collection in Vienna
Lit.: This watch is illustrated and described in Samuel Guye & Henri Michel, “Mesures du temps et de l’espace”, Fribourg 1970 and in “Uhren- und Messinstrumente”, Zurich 1971, p. 68, 72.