The 18in (46cm) case is in olivewood, or possibly another exotic timber, with a two-train fusee movement striking on two bells.
Charles Goode was made Free of the Clockmakers Company in 1686 with workshops in the Strand employing a number of apprentices.
The catalogue noted: “Similarities between his work and that of George Graham and Daniel Quare have been noted, with some considering him one of the great underrated makers of his age.”
The estimate of £1500-2500 was more of a ‘here-to-sell’ signal.
What helped to propel it to the £12,500 bid by an anonymous buyer may have been the updated catalogue note “this is a six-hour clock made for the Italian market”.
Six-hour clocks were apparently common in 15th-17th century Tuscany. The dial is numbered one to six, dividing the day into the quarters to regulate the prayer cycle of monks. Generally they had a single hand, although this one has two.
