The Teiger Shelton

John Shelton, London Circa 1736

A fine George II month going walnut equation of time longcase regulator. John Shelton worked in Shoe Lane and was the principal clockmaker employed by George Graham in the making of longcase regulator and astronomical clock movements. The Spanish Royal Collection at the Patrimonio Nacional has two Shelton equation of time clocks.

Case

The oak carcass, veneered with figured and burr walnut, has a breakarch hood with pierced-wood frieze fret and brass-capped angle columns. Concave throat moulding, an arched trunk door, the base with a raised rectangular panel standing on a double-skirted plinth.

Dial

The Graham influence arched dial, signed John Shelton, London, on a sector-shaped reserve in the finely matted centre. A calendar aperture within the subsidiary seconds ring above VI. Silvered chapter ring with Roman hour numerals and Arabic minutes. Blued steel hands and sunburst-mounted gilt-brass minute hand is used for apparent solar time.

Double-screwed mask-and-scroll spandrels adorn the large aperture in the arch , Large aperture to the arch for the engraved silvered year calendar disc. This disc displays days of the month and Portuguese months, along with the zodiac, sun’s position in the ecliptic, and equation of time, all against a central, vertical, blued-steel wire index. Double-screwed mask-and-scroll spandrels

Movement

The month duration movement with substantial arch-top rectangular plates, secured by seven pinned baluster pillars. Iinverted deadbeat escapement at the base of the Graham pattern, and bolt-and-shutter maintaining power The kidney shaped equation cam scratch signed on either side, John Shelton, Shoe Lane, London, August 25th 1736. The cam mounted on the backplate supported by an arbor through the plates in turn carrying the year disc in the dial arch. The gilt solar minute hand is driven by differential gearing on the frontplate, connected via an arbor to the backplate, which terminates in a disc-pinion engaged with the rack at the lower end of an elbowed arm equipped with a friction roller at its upper end. This spring-loaded arrangement is against the rim of the kidney.

Provenance

According to oral tradition, originally from a Portuguese royal palace, most likely that of the Palace-Convent of Mafra;

The Tieger Collection, Milan, Italy

John C Taylor Collection

Height 8 ft 4 ½ inches (255 cm)