Cylinder (Musical Movement). A musical movement cylinder is often used in musical clocks. The cylinder revolves in order to pluck the tuned teeth (or lamellae) of a steel comb. Reference: Wikipedia. Below are some examples of clocks which use cylinders to produce sounds or figural movements.
Cylinder from a musical clock
Musical Clock with Spinet and Organ ca. 1625 Veit Langenbucher German
Inside the ebony case of this musical clock is an extremely rare and important instrument consisting of a sixteen-note pipe organ and a sixteen-string spinet that may be played independently of the organ. Made by the renowned team of Samuel Bidermann and his son (also Samuel)–the father’s L-shaped pinning style appears in this work–and Viet Langenbucher, the extraordinary piece includes, in addition to the organ and spinet, a clock and five carved and colorfully clad commedia dell’arte figures that perform a circling dance in the clock’s tower when the instruments sound to mark the hours.
The complex clock is perhaps the most musically elaborate automatic instrument to survive from the early seventeenth century. Its three airs, probably by composer Hans Leo Hassler (baptized 1564-1612), the elder Bidermann’s teacher and once keeper of the knowledge of pinning barrels in Augsburg, are stored on the original pinned cylinder. Most cylinders and their tunes were replaced by subsequent generations, but this one was spared to provide us with an extremely rare musical document that allows us to hear the airs as they were played in the seventeenth century.
Reference: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
An ormolu and patinated-bronze mounted, white and black marble musical and automaton mantel clock, Louis XVI, Paris, circa 1784, the mechanism by Jean-Baptiste-André Furet and François-Louis Godon, the gilt-bronze base attributed to Etienne Martincourt the head wearing a turban with plumed feathers, the eyes indicating the hours and the minutes, the draped bust with a quiver and a bow to the back and a floral garland sash across the front, the pedestal on a stepped gilt bronze and marble breakfront base flanked by putti, the base enclosing an organ, the gilt bronze mounts depicting children playing with a dog in the clouds, vases with flowers, the sides with caduceus and petasus, on toupee feet, the movement signed FURET ET GAUDON HORLOGERS DU ROI under the turban and Furet et Godon horlogers Du Roi, a Paris in front of the musical cylinder Haut. 72 cm, larg. 41 cm, prof. 23 cm ; height 28⅓in., width 16in., depth 9in.
Sold for 1,452,500 EUR at Sotheby’s in 2019
A very fine exhibition quality large triple fusee quarter chiming musical skeleton clock in carved walnut vitrine Signed on the dial, J. F. Cole, London and on the frame, J. R. Losada, 105 Regent Street, London; the musical movement signed, Nicole Frères Date: mid 19th century Movement: With substantial scroll plates joined by six screwed pillars, triple chain fusees, deadbeat escapement, chamfered brass rod pendulum, chiming the quarters on eight bells, striking the hour on a gong, playing one of several tunes on the hour or at will by means of a pinned cylinder and comb with change and repeat levers in the base Dial: Silvered roman chapter ring skeletonized with quatrefoil piercing enclosing six-pointed star in the center, blued pierced hands Case: The paneled base on carved bun feet supporting the tapered vitrine glazed on four sides within gilt brass fillets flanked by carved fruit swags at the corners, below the pagoda top with central carved basket of fruit finial and plume finials to the corners Size: 43 in (110cm) high Accompaniments: Winding crank for the musical movement
Sold for US$ 37,575 (£ 28,529) inc. premium at Bonham’s in 2019
Brass cased clock in shape of lighthouse; time-keeping movement with going barrel and platform escapement with ratchet-tooth lever escapement mounted half way up the tower; second clock-work mechanism housed in base turns the faceted glass cylinder that houses the light. Date 1875-1885
Reference: © The Trustees of the British Museum
A LOUIS XVI ORMOLU, ENAMEL, BRONZE, SICILIAN JASPER AND MARBLE MANTEL CLOCK Attributed to Pierre-Philippe Thomire The movement set within a circular blue enamel cylinder with revolving concentric white enamel Roman and Arabic chapter rings, the hour signed ‘LéPINE, the backplate signed ‘Lépine H.ger du Roy AParis No. 251′, the twin barrel movement with pinwheel escapement and countwheel strike on bell, flanked on the right by a maiden making a sacrifical offering beside a flaming lion-monopodia urn, the alter with twin goats’ masks and a low relief frieze of classical figures, including a sacrificial bull, flanked by a kneeling attendant beside a material-draped red marble urn and bunch of flowers, the cylinder on a Sicilian jasper marble base, the whole on a white and bleu turquin marble stepped base with bowed ends and channelled frieze centred by a berried foliate roundel mask and confronting griffins with scrolling foliage and pierced anthemion, on flat bun feet, the right-hand urn later blue painted and moved slightly, with pendulum, lacking winder 23 in. (58.5 cm.) high; 25½ in. (65 cm.) wide
Sold for GBP 160,650 at Christie’s in 2002
