JACOB MASSEY, LONDON: A RARE AND FINE WILLIAM III EBONISED STRIKING BRACKET / TABLE CLOCK WITH  PULL QUARTER REPEAT CIRCA 1700 the case with caddy top surmounted by an unusual gilt bronze handle cast with merman caryatids and dolphins centred by a crown and sceptres, the moulded cornice over the sides with rectangular glazed panels, with pierced ormolu fret cast as a mask flanked by scrolling foliage, with a similar pierced fret to the front of the case centred by a putto mask, the 7" square brass dial with strike / silent lever to the top engraved 'S N', with gilt spandrels matching the side frets, the silvered Roman chapter ring with Arabic five minute markers, the gilt matted centre with mock pendulum aperture, the silvered back to the aperture signed 'Massy London', with chamfered date aperture below, the twin fusee movement with five knopped and finned pillars and verge escapement striking the hours on a bell, the pull quarter repeat striking the quarters on a smaller bell and the hours on the larger, the backplate finely engraved throughout with scrolling acanthus leaves and flowerheads, signed 'Jacob Massy London' the pendulum cock pierced and finely engraved, the pendulum with pear shaped bob, with two case keys and winder, 41cm handle up The movement is winding, ticking and striking and the pull repeat is working but not fully tested or guaranteed.  The ornate gilt bronze handle features identical addorsed caryatids to that of a Joseph Windmills table clock sold at Bonhams, London, 16 December 2015, lot 101, however the crown and sceptres to the centre of the handle are unusual features which embody the case with a certain grandeur. The finely engraved backplate is distinct in that it includes two particular identifiable features; in the corners, the leaf border is done in an unusual way; the leaves do not collide at the corners, but the engraver has created a ‘corner leaf’ motif. Secondly, issuing from the foliage are a pair of dogs with pointed ears that spew vines. These unusual features can also be found on five other clocks that are included in the database ‘www.englishtableclocks.org’ which catalogues the engraving patterns on the backplates of English table clocks (book to be published soon). The five clocks are: F14-1 Foster, C1-2 Clowes, R13-1 Robin, G1-15 Gretton, M1-3 Henry Massey, brother of Jacob Massey. LITERATURE: Jacob Massy / Massey is first recorded in C.H. Baillie 'Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World' in 1689. He worked at at Cranbourn Street, London and was free of the Clockmakers Company from 1715-25. Jacob Massey was descended from a family of renowned clock makers, his father was Nicholas Massey, also recorded at Cranbourn Street and free of the Clockmaker's in 1682, he came to London from Blois, France, where his father was also a clockmaker 'of repute'. Nicholas Massey died in 1698 and mentions his son Jacob in his will.  AUCTION COMPARABLE: A fine late 17th century ebonised table clock by Edmund Massey, presumably part of the Massey dynasty, was sold in these rooms on 6th June 2018, lot 260 for £18,000, this was a timepiece rather than a striking clock.