Entry in Sotheby's auction house catalogue in April 2017, 'Important Watches and Clocks' section

"Wolf Clock"

'Wolf Clock from Winterfell'; Catalogue Number 128, dated 1673. A unique and highly notable longcase clock, one of the first of its kind ever seen in Great Britain.

ESTIMATE

Estimate Upon Request.

Sales starting price £300,000. [Click to read condition report/saleroom notice]

PROVENANCE

The first known owner: Sansa Clegane (nee Stark), Duchess of Norwich, since then held by bequeathing or inheritance by the descendants of the original owner.

The current owner and seller: Her Grace Beth Stark, Duchess of Carlisle.

EXHIBITED

The Patek Philippe Museum, Geneva, 2001 - 2005.

LITERATURE

Wilson, C., The Art of Longcase Clock, London, 1998, pp. 289-291, 356-360.

Julienne, A.The Patek Philippe Museum: An Introduction, Geneva, 2001, pp. 21-22.

Rodriguez,GN, "Un Age d'Or des Arts Décoratifs: 1649-1700", Dossier De L'Art, December 2003- January 2004, Paris: Galeries Nationales du Grand Palais, pp. 339, fig. 2.

CATALOGUE NOTE

No other horological invention has been as significant and influential as a longcase clock, finding its way from palaces and grand houses of the European royalty and aristocracy to the mansions of lower nobility, bourgeoisie and middle class (also called tall-case clock, floor clock, or grandfather clock). The present example is named 'Wolf Clock' after its rare decorative motifs and its association with family Stark, whose coat of arms bears an image of a wolf. This clock has the most complex longcase clock mechanism of all the known examples of its time, far more advanced than its existing contemporaries. The complexity of the mechanism is only rivalled by the clock's sumptuous case.

The origins of this clock are well known, it being first described in the ownership of the Duchess of Norwich in late 1600's. The clock has remained in the ownership of the descendants of the original owner to this day and is being offered for sale for the first time in its history.

THE CLOCK

The Wolf Clock is an eight-day movement weight-driven pendulum clock with the pendulum held inside the tower of the case. It is freestanding, with a height of 46in (1.16m), and its style represents the earliest known form of Comtoise style clock, also known as Morbier clocks or Morez clocks, featuring a curved "wide-hip" case and a greater use of curved lines, which distinguishes this style from other more angularly shaped styles.

The case features elaborately carved ornamentation on the hood (bonnet), which surrounds and frames the clock face, which is ten inches in diameter with the chapter ring made of copper, as are numbers and graduations. In addition, the clock internal mechanism has some unusual features that place it firmly among the most sophisticated clocks of its time (for details see Wilson, 1998).

The richly decorated case is made of oak and has cherry wood inlays and hand-made carvings, and is veneered overall. The decorations are one of the reasons for its name, being most extraordinary for a clock of this era, depicting various animals scrolling through the woods and landscapes dotted with rivers and castles. The most prominent of these is a wolf, being depicted individually as well as in packs, but another frequent motif is a small bird and another animal which appears to be a large dog, clearly distinguishable from the wolves. All three motives are used frequently and seem to be interacting with each other, making the style uncommon in comparison to hunting scenes and pastoral depictions of the time. Unlike often illustrated settings of hounds hunting wolves, the art of the clock presents all animals engaging with each other harmoniously.

The maker of the clock is a well-known clocksmith and one of the early pioneers of longcase clocks in Great Britain, Master Sandor Clegane. The clock was a groom's gift to his bride on the eve of their wedding, and it bears inscription on the inside of the door opening the case, "From SC to LB" (sic! possible a secret nickname to his bride Sansa Hardyng), and two other inscriptions with initials SC (in the brass pendulum and in the clock face).

Clegane was a self-taught clocksmith originally from Gloucester with an unusual past. In his youth he was a member of a Royal Guard and Captain of Royal Arms, known for his brutality and ruthless reputation in the service at the court of King Charles I. He left the court shortly before the King's execution, and for a long time records of him are patchy and his death was even documented in the broadsheets of the time. However, after the Restoration he emerged back to the history's pages as a leveller and a man of peace, running his own workshop as a clockmaker. In 1672 he moved to Norwich and established a thriving business there under the patronage of Duchess of Norwich, whom he married the following year.

Clegane-clocks were sold all over England to all levels of society, including town halls, country gentry and the Church as well as high society and nobles. His work was advanced for the time, but none manifested the complexity of the Wolf Clock, which he himself was known to consider as his masterpiece.

DOCUMENTATION

Accompanied by a facsimile of a letter bequeathing the clock to Lady Sansa Clegane as a wedding gift (document no. 8, dated August 30, 1673), and a facsimile of the list of household items Lady Cathelyn Mormont took with her upon her marriage with Lord Richard Stark (later Duke of Carlisle) (document no. 23, dated December 2, 1789). No documentation regarding the payment for the clock has been found, it being a gift.

THE PATRON

Sansa Clegane (nee Stark, previously Sansa Lannister and Sansa Hardyng) Duchess of Norwich (1635 - 1709).

Sansa Clegane was born as Sansa Stark in the Winterfell Castle in Carlisle in 1635. The eldest daughter of Eddard Stark, Duke of Carlisle, and Catelyn Stark (nee Tully), Duchess of Carlisle, Sansa was one of five siblings. At a young age, Sansa was sent to the court of Charles I, whose close confidante and officer her father was. For a short time she was engaged to the second surviving son of King Charles, Prince James (later King James II and VII), whose personal Captain of Royal Arms her third husband Sandor Clegane was. It is not known how well the two knew each other at the time, but from the proximity of both to the court it can be estimated that they at least were aware of each other. At the eve of King Charles I's execution she was briefly married to Lord Tyrion Lannister, the second son of Duke of Hereford Tywin Lannister, but the marriage was soon annulled due to non-consummation.

The English Civil War saw the fortunes of Starks greatly diminished and their lands confiscated, and Lady Sansa spent most of Protectorate period in Norwich, where she married Harold Hardyng, a relative to then Duke of Norwich, Robert Arryn. Harold Hardyng later inherited the dukedom at the death of the young duke, thus conferring the title of Duchess to his wife.

The marriage of Sansa and Harold had two issue, sons Edouard (1655 – 1722) and Robert (1657 – 1712) before the Duke died in a hunting accident in 1658. As mentioned, the Duchess got married again in 1673 to Sandor Clegane. The groom had no title and the mismatched marriage was frowned upon by the contemporaries of her class, but this did not prevent the couple having one daughter in the same year, named Sandra (1673 – 1742), and by all accounts living happily together for the rest of their lives.

Sansa Clegane was well-educated with modern views about politics and social issues and a clear passion for the arts and craft, which she shared with her third husband. The couple regularly spent more than ten percent of their annual income on art, cultural patronage and social issues and welfare. Lady Sansa had broad collecting interests, which ranged from medieval works of art to new emerging technologies and furniture. She was passionate about contemporary paintings and in later years established a renowned collection of clocks and timepieces, the start of which can be traced to her husband, the Wolf Clock being the first piece of that kind in her collection.

Sansa Clegane died peacefully in her sleep while visiting her ancestral family home, the Winterfell Castle, after a sudden bout of pneumonia. Her last husband had succumbed to a wasting disease (most likely cancer) only a few months earlier. By that time all lands and honours the Starks had lost during the Civil War had been restored to them, and it was during one of her many visits to see her brother Duke of Carlisle, Brandon Stark when the Duchess left this world. At her request, she was buried in the crypts of Winterfell where her last husband's bones were interred as well, to rest among Stark ancestors.

KNOWN HISTORY OF THE CLOCK

The Wolf Clock is first mentioned in the contemporary correspondence by a guest attending the wedding of Lady Sansa and Sandor Clegane. The description can leave no doubt about it being written about this particular piece, referring to it as "the most unusual clock the groom gifted to the bride", then goes on describing the wolf, bird and hound decorations, and how it "has the most pleasing jingle when it strikes the hours". Hence the building of the clock can be placed to 1673.

At the marriage of the couple's daughter Sandra to the Earl of Dunbar John Umber in 1692, the Duchess gave the clock to her as a wedding gift, and it travelled with the bride to her new home in North Berwick. The marriage was prestigious but unexpected due to the groom's engagement to another lady of high society at the time the couple met. Lady Sandra was described by contemporaries as a strikingly beautiful and tall young woman with dark hair and beautiful grey eyes, so it is likely that the marriage was a love match rather than an arrangement between the families.

The Wolf Clock stayed in the ownership of the descendants of Lady Sandra for several generations, being bequeathed from mother to daughter until in 1776 the great-great-great-grand-daughter of Sandra Umber, Cathelyn Mormont, married Lord Richard Stark, later Duke of Carlisle, and the clock ended up in Winterfell Castle. There the clock has stayed until these days.

The current owner is selling the clock to pay for the upkeep of the castle, which is a National Trust acknowledged historic property and open to the public. The owner has expressed a wish to see it being purchased by a museum or a public trust so that future generations can enjoy its uniqueness.

- THE END -

Author's Notes: Thank you once again – this has been a fun ride! I hope I am forgiven this whimsical turn of events – but since fanfiction writing is supposed to be fun and for one's own enjoyment, I did what took my fancy… Bye until the next time! J