Edwardian Bracket Clock; late 19th century. Ebonised wood. Gilt bronze appliques. Eight-day movement. Measurements: 51 x 25 x 16 cm. English bracket clock with ionised wood case and gilt metal applications in the form of tracery on the sides. The structure is architectural, with a semicircular arched façade and a convex truncated pyramid-shaped dome, topped with a bronze ball, a motif that is replicated on the pinnacles and the feet. The numbering is Roman numerals. Bracket clocks of English origin are notable mainly for their mechanism, but also for their decoration. This type of clock originated in the 17th century in the 1960s, when the pendulum was applied to the clock to replace the previous foliot regulator. This change made it necessary to provide the mechanism with a case to protect it from shocks that could alter its movement. This was the origin of the watches known in England as brackets, i.e. portable watches. These were short cases which housed a mechanism held between two thick plates and contained, as the driving force for each train, a combination of a hub and a snail. These clocks were originally intended to be placed on a bracket, hence their English name. This bracket was a separate piece that was usually made at the same time, with decoration to match the clock. Later, however, the base and clock began to be made separately.