An mid 18th century quarter-chiming table clock by John Ellicott (1706-1772), London.
Ebonised wood, gilt bronze mounts. The clockwork signed "Jn: Ellicott London". The dial signed "John Ellicott London". Height excl. handle 39, length 21 cm.
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John Ellicott (1706-1772) was one of the finest clockmakers of the 18th century. The son of a clockmaker, also John, Ellicott took over his father's premises in Sweetings Alley, near the Royal Exchange, circa 1728. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1738, serving on its council for three years. A friend to the globemaker John Senex and the astronomers John Hadley and James Ferguson, he had an observatory at his home in Hackney. In 1760 he was joined in business by his son Edward and in 1762 he was appointed Clockmaker to the King. He is probably best remembered for the invention of his compensated pendulum in 1752.