Hello Danielle,
Thank you for sending in this chiming mantel clock to mearto.com for an appraisal.
TITLE:
Art Deco era, mahoganized oak with burl walnut highlights and brass ornaments, eight-day time, strike and quarterly chiming mantel clock, stylistically in the tambour (Napoleon Hat) design, made by the Mauthe Uhrenfabrik (Clock factory), Schwenningen in the southern district of Wuerttemberg, Germany, circa 1930s.
PROVENANCE:
Antique clock willed to me by my grandfather, who was a clock collector.
DESCRIPTION:
Case: Approximately 8 inches tall x 22 wide x 6 deep this is a mahogany stained oak case with burl walnut highlights, a more ornately designed tambour clock design with a Napoléon Hat dome shaped pediment flanked by concave sides that stretch out laterally.
There is a glazed brass dial bezel in the upper dome shaped façade while beneath the dial extra pads of burl walnut have been added to the face, each side has a four-sided pad with three concave sides and the lowest fourth side in an ogival shape. The lower face and base terminate in scrollwork round feet decorated with a brass rosette and the two pads just described separated by a full oval shell with 17/18 petals in metal. The scrolled feet run the full depth of the case and are segmented by rings. The top of the case may be veneered. The back of the case is simply stained a dark mahogany and the back has an arched wooden door with cloth covered concentric aperture, providing access to the movement compartment. The inside part of the back door is signed ‘Robinson’, an owner of this clock at some point.
Dial: A round silvered metal dial with applied black enameled Arabic hours, closed bar minute track, three winding apertures for the three movement springs, steel rococo Chippendale style hands while at the top of the dial there are two small apertures flanking the twelve, one for strike/silent feature and one to make the movement faster and slower.
The dial is unsigned.
Movement: A solid brass plate movement with the front and rear plates connected by tubular pillars at the corners, secured at the rear plate with screws and nuts. The movement sits on a seatboard which slides into a set inside the case. The rectangular plates have rounded corners suggesting German origin, as does the rounded shaped brass pendulum suspension bridge which holds the spring from which the pendulum descends. Notice the rounded pieces of brass where screws enter the rear plate. These are all signs of German made clocks. The style of chiming and striking is governed by a German metal spicule music box seen in the lower right-hand side of the back plate where chiming and striking is on a set of five metal rods struck by five movement hammers. (This was a method first invented in the early 20th century by Junghans and used by most of the German clockmaking firms during the post-World War I era.
There would be an anchor escapement with flywheel and rack and snail striking on the front plat (not seen) powered by three steel springs which power the time train for eight-day duration, cause quarterly chiming in increasing length each quarter until the next hour when there is a full playing of the chime and full striking of the hour. Since most of these clocks were made for the English-speaking market, they primarily played Westminster chimes. Note at the bottom of the rear plate there is a cameo engraved “Mauthe, Germany”. (See company history below)
CONDITION:
Case: Good condition with modest scuffs and rubs to the outer case, mostly in the back. Missing hook and eye type door closure in the back. Loss of surface finish most likely due to water contact on the left side of the case covering a large area. Minor chipping to the front edge of the case.
Dial: Some oxidation to the white metal dial surround but the dial remains in very good condition.
Movement: Has some black marks on the upper left-hand side of the rear plate, but otherwise appears clean and original throughout.
HISTORY:
MAUTHE CLOCK COMPANY
Friedrich Mauthe (1822-1884) began work as a supplier of parts for clockmakers in Schwenningen Germany. It was not until 1860 that he started manufacturing clocks on his own. In 1876 his sons, Christian and Jacob, joined the firm which became the Mauthe Clock Company (Mauthe Uhrenfabrik). In 1899 they added their own case factory and employed 1000 workers. By 1930, 2000 employees produced 45,000 clocks per week. In 1937 60% of the clocks imported into England were made by Mauthe. This clock company survived the war and did not close its doors until 1976. I could find no less than 30 trademarks filed by this Germany clockmaking company. (One of these trademarks is ADLER OR ADLERGONG, which they registered in January of 1930.) They did use five similar but slightly different trademarks that used the wings of an eagle and they were filed with the German government in the years, 1923, 1925, 1925, 1936 and 1936. The name “Mauthe” itself was their trademark registered October 4, 1911.
COMPARABLES:
~https://www.liveauctioneers.com/search/?filterTerm=Mauthe%20clock&keyword=&sort=-relevance&status=archive (Here is your clock, although the auctioneer has his dating wrong. It sold for $100 back in 2006)
~https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/8089581_86-german-black-laquer-mauthe-mantle-clock (Sold for $75 in 2010)
~https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/67605208_mauthe-mantel-clock (clock was passed at auction in 2018 at $50)
~https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/36397649_mauthe-mantel-clock (sold for $55 in 2015)
~https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/72005210_antique-mauthe-germany-mantel-clock (Sold for $60 in 2019)
~https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/36112035_german-mauthe-art-deco-burlwood-mantle-clock (Sold for $100 in 2015)
PRICING:
In its present condition, the fair market value for this 1930s late Art deco mantel clock would fall into the range of $85-$95. Even if it were in perfect condition the fair market value would not be much more than $100.
Thank you for choosing mearto.com for this appraisal.
My best,
David