FR EN
1 / 7
a white clock that is sitting on a tablea white clock that is sitting on a tablea white clock that is sitting on a tablea white clock that is sitting on a tablea white clock that is sitting on a tablea white toilet with a gold bowl on top of ita white clock that is sitting on a table
Featured lot selected by the auctions House.
Premium BELLIER & FIERFORT Commissaires de Justice associés

206 - Rare bone clock (probably from cattle or sheep) (Havers’ str…
See original version (French)

Estimate €1,200 - €2,000
Sale commission
Description
Rare bone clock (probably from cattle or sheep) (Havers’ structure observed) comprising an openwork backplate framed by two armed and helmeted guards, surmounted by an arched pediment, the whole resting on an openwork, scalloped plinth supported by four ball-and-spur feet. Enamelled dial with Roman numerals, watch movement with cock signed François Joly in Paris (movement requires servicing). One of the guards is missing a spear Work by French prisoners in England, first quarter of the 19th century H 30, W 18, D 8 cm Total gross weight: 809 g Comparative examples at public auctions: - London, Sotheby’s, 9 June 2017, lot 227, for a similar clock. - Nantucket Auction, 3 August 2013, lot 344, for a similar example Comparative examples held in public collections: - New York, Metropolitan Museum, (62.18.1) for a clock of a very similar design - Peterborough Museum, (PETMG:E127), (PETMG:E209), (PETMG:E169), (PETMG:E226), (PETMG:E255) for very similar examples from Norman Cross Between 1803 and 1814, Britain held nearly 130,000 French prisoners, distributed amongst pontoon camps and land-based detention centres, notably Norman Cross (the first dedicated camp, opened in 1797) and Dartmoor (operational from 1809). This captivity gave rise to a unique form of tablet-making: beef or sheep bones from the prisoners’ rations, boiled and then softened in damp clay, were transformed – without plans or professional tools – into objects of remarkable diversity and finesse. Sales took place at an ‘outdoor market’ held in the immediate vicinity of the depots, under the supervision of the guards. A contemporary witness, the British officer Ambrose Serle, noted as early as 1810 that the finest craftsmen could ‘earn, and take with them upon their release, more than a hundred guineas each’. Long relegated to the status of curiosities, these pieces now constitute a distinct category of collectables in their own right, backed by a body of reference literature, notably the works of Clive Lloyd. Crafted without freedom or materials worthy of the name (hence the use of a watch movement for the mechanism), these pieces demonstrate a precision that is all the more remarkable given the very circumstances of their creation. EXPERT: Mr Pierre Grignon Dumoulin, court-appointed expert at the Amiens Court of Appeal ARTEMIS ESTIMATIONS Appraisal House, 6 rue Ancel 60200 Compiègne - 06 09 83 33 29 - www.artemisestimations.com
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale A fine catalogue sale
Auction location
Auction time 10/30/2026 at 1:30 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
You may also like