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| Appraisal ID: | 118313 | |
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| Appraised On: | 28-07-2006 | |
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| Title: | Antique Bronze Clock | |
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| Date/Era/Period: | pre 1900 | |
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| Description: | Antique bronze mantle clock | |
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| Condition: | The clock was damaged during shipment. One of the bronze figurines now has a tear down the side - don't know if it can be repaired. Prior to the move it was in perfect condition. | |
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| Origin: | I inherited the item from my grandmother. It had been in her her mother's family but I don't know the age. My family is of Irish/English decendance - family settled in Texas. | |
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| Provenance: | The item has never been listed before. | |
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| Appraised By: | David A. Sperling |
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| History Of The Item: | Anson Phelps began the company as an offshoot of his Ansonia Brass Co. to be able to find increased uses for his brass. The Ansonia Clock Company existed from 1851 to 1930. The plant was in Ansonia, Connecticut prior to 1879, when the entire operation was moved to Brooklyn, New York. They were very successful. They made all styles of Connecticut clocks, both weight and spring driven, such as wall , gallery and shelf. They used wooden, metal and china cases. They made a number of novelty clocks in the 1880's and imitated French imports around 1890. Their trademark was a capitol A inside a circle. In 1930 they sold the factory to a Russia company. At the height of the Victorian Period (1880-1900) Americans developed a taste for clocks with heavy bronze statues. They were used as accessories that complimented the Renaissance Revival furniture then in style. The statues, representing true romantic figures, were seen as free standing figures, decoration on furniture, but especially as figured mantel clocks. All the major clock manufacturers contributed to this style, none more so than the Ansonia Clock Company. |
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| Appraiser Tips: | PLEASE NOTE: (IF YOU CHOOSE TO REPAIR THE STATUE) To repair the damaged statue I would consult with: Charles M. Carrick 1162 West Central Avenue Davidson, Maryland 21035 Phone: 410--798-0450 Mr. Carrick advertises that he repairs broken statues on clocks. Try to avoid having him refinish the whole statue, simply do the repair, and that should have a finish applied to it like the remainder of the statue. 1-Never move the clock without first removing the pendulum rod and bob. 2-The clock needs attention when it continually stops or begins to slow down more and more 3-Just dust the case. There is no need for waxes and polishes. 4-Never move the minute or hour hand backwards. 5-Don't let the clock run all the way down. If it is a one week clock, wind it weekly. If it is a thirty hour clock, wind it daily. 6-The clock should be kept on a level surface to remain in balance |
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| Research Sources: | 1-Online price guides for clocks: Antiqueclock price guide.com Maine Antiques Digest price database 2-Warner Collectors Guide To American Clocks by Schorsch 3-Ansonia Clock Company Catalog by Arlington Book Company 4-Price Guide to Antique Clocks by Ehrhardt 5-The Mart, a supplement to the Bulletin of the National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors. 6-personal experience |
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| Appraiser Comments: | Your clock is a circa 1895 Ansonia double figure "bronze" mantel clock. The figure on the left is Don Caesar and on the right is Don Juan. The clock is an eight day spring driven time and strike mantel clock. In addition it strikes on the half hour also. The height originally was 20.5", width 25.5" with a 5.5" diameter dial. The statues are composed of base metal which was then finished in either a "Gilt, Japanese bronze, Barbedienne or Syrian bronze finish". They originally sold for $42-$46. The statues are placed upon a base of ebonised metal, with scroll decoration carved into the front of the base, above metal lions' paw feet with a scrolled apron between them. The clock itself retains a complete urn finial above the porcelain dial, which reveals an outside escapement, beautiful open spade hands and the symbol of Ansonia on the dial. Somewhere on the clock, either dial or movement, it sometimes said "Manufactured by the Ansonia Clock Company, New York, United States of America. The ornate area around the dial and the base below the clock are also "bronzed" base metal with wonderful scroll decorations. All of these clocks had a decorative sash which hung on the sides of the clock. In this model it would have been attached at the three and nine o'clock positions. These bronzed sashes are missing from your clock. Also Don Caesar's sword should be straight, not bent. The value of these clocks has gradually increased over the past few years. Here are auction prices since 2000 for double statue Ansonia mantel clocks similar to yours: Nov. 2000-"Fisher and Hunter"-the finish is gone and is down to the white metal. $1250 Schmitt auction, New hampshire Apr. 2002-"Music and Poetru"- near perfect $1300 Schmitt Auction Jan. 2003-"Attila and Mars"- near perfect $2201 Horton's Auction, Kentucky Oct. 2003-"Music and Poetry"- worn finish, good $2000 Schmitt Auction Oct. 2003-"Art and Commerce"- refinished $1100 Schmitt Auction Oct. 2003-"Two Muses"- completely refinished $2250 Schmitt Auction In today's market a nice old finish which retains the bronze is highly sought after, and your clock demonstrates just that. It is missing the two small side pieces adjacent to the dial of the clock. If the statutes were both intact and not broken (considering the fact of the two missing bronze sashes), the Auction Value of your clock would likely be $2000. The Auction Value is always less than the Retail Replacement Value, which is what you would have to spend in a retail store to buy another similar example. If there were no break in the statue, and all else were the same, the Retail Replacement value would be $3000. Fair Market Value is less than Auction Value and is really only used for estate tax or IRS purposes, so I do not think it comes into play in your case. Today's market is very sensitive to damage. Having a broken figure is a major hurt to value, lessening it by as much as 60%-75%. VALUATION PRIOR TO DAMAGE WOULD BE: Retail Replacement Value: $3000. Fair Market Value: $1800. I have appraised the value (below) of the statue clock in its current broken condition, and missing two small pieces along the side of the face of the clock. In simple terms, by breaking one of the statues the retail loss would be about $2000. in this particular case. |
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This online appraisal is an expert's opinion of the item(s) depicted above based solely on images and information supplied by our customer. Additional information, not shown on this certificate, may have been taken into account for this online Appraisal. Please Note: Our service strives to include the best international authorities in their respective fields. While the appraiser may be an expert in rendering the valuation, please understand that they may not be completely fluent in English. * Current Fair Market Value is the amount someone might receive when selling their item to a dealer or at auction. It is also the amount most government tax agencies (IRS, Revenue Canada, Inland Revenue, etc.) recognize as the tax deductible amount were the item donated to a charitable organization. ** Replacement Cost is the retail amount one might reasonably pay to purchase the item from a dealer, gallery, store, etc. It is also the amount for which one may want to insure an item. For currency conversion go to http://www.xe.net/ucc/full.shtml Whatsitworthtoyou.com |
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