Austrian Gilt Silver and Enamel Urn Desk Clock, c.1920s
Fine Austrian gilt silver and enamel desk clock, c.1920s, marked 935, Vienna, in the form of an urn, set with annular dial containing Roman numerals, the dial surrounded by incised looping decoration with suspended chains and quartz tear drops, decorated with pink guilloche containing multiple hand painted roundels of women in outdoor landscapes and cherub portraits, in tones of blue, green, white and brown on a pink ground with gilt accents, standing on a hexagonal quartz stand, a/f (one chain loose at one end), height 4.53 in. catalogue note: similar sold Sotheby's New York important watches and clocks 27 October 2010, lot 15, Sold for $8750 Usd
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- A/f, as Inspected - The letters "A/F" or "as inspected" as part of a description is the cataloguer's shorthand for "all faults" or "as found", meaning the item has some type of damage or deficiency, it is of uncertain date or provenance, and/or that the seller takes no responsibility for the completeness of the item or the accuracy of the description.
- Incised - A record of a name, date or inscription, or a decoration scratched into a surface, usually of a glass or ceramic item with a blunt instrument to make a coarse indentation. Compare with engraving where the surface is cut with a sharp instrument such as a metal needle or rotating tool to achieve a fine indentation.
- Guilloche - A form of classical decoration consisting of a repeating ornament of interlacing curved bands, sometimes forming circles, and further decorated with rosettes or other flower forms.
The name is derived from the inventor, French engineer Guillot, who invented a mechanical method of inscribing fine repeating patterns on to metallic surfaces.
On enamelled items with guilloche decoration, the surface is firstly engraved with the repeating pattern, and then covered with several layers of enamel, each of which is fired.
Where the item has not been enamelled the form of decoration is usually called "engine turned".
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