The face of this clock is signed by Robert Higgs. Its case is mahogany decorated with gilded bronze. It has a pagoda style hood, finished with three gilded bronze balusters. Two wood columns flank the door with a glass pane to protect the clock face.

The face is made of gilded bronze. The hour dial is in gold-plated silver and the hour figures are enamelled in black, with Roman numbers for the hours and Arabic for the minutes. The inside of the dial is decorated with a light trim. It also has an auxiliary dial under the number 12 for the second hand and a rectangular window over the 6 for the calendar. The signature of the watchmaker – Robert / Higgs / LONDON – can be seen in the upper arch of the dial in a circular card. The hand stem and two keyholes are in the centre of the dial. The hands are made out of bluing metal. There is a strike silencer mechanism – STRIKE/SILENT – over the main dial. The rest of the dial is decorated with fretwork metal plates with plant motifs and heads of cherubs.

The sides of the case are made of straight wood sections and there is a door with a lock in the front. The base is rectangular with slight moulding around the bottom.

The clock has English rectangular plate machinery with two wheel trains: one for running the clock and the other for the striking mechanism. The movement or running mechanism is regulated with a pin-pallet escapement and pendulum. The striking mechanism rings out the hours and half hours and is regulated by a fly or braking system.

This clock’s case is a British longcase typical of the mid-18^th century.

Robert Higgs and his brother Peter, who became a master clockmaker in 1767, went into partnership with Diego Evans in 1780 or 1785. They signed their works as ‘Higgs y Diego Evans Londres’ [‘Higgs and Diego Evans London’]. Some timepieces with only the name of Robert Higgs exist from that time. The fact that only his signature appears on this piece indicates that this clock is latter. Higgs also specialised in the export market to Spain, though he signed this case in English.

Amelia Aranda Huete