A RARE AND LARGE MID 19TH CENTURY ENGRAVED GILT BRASS STRUT CLOCK BY THOMAS COLE, LONDON NO. 1720 the frame case surmounted by a fleur de lys over canted angles and raised on scrolling feet, decorated with engraved interlaced strapwork, acanthus leaves and a cartouche, with a hinged easel support to the back and numbered 1720, with integral winding key and shuttered access to the vertically mounted balance wheel escapement, the silvered oval dial engraved with acanthus scrolls, strapwork and a basket of roses trailing around the chapter ring and to the centre, the roses and foliage enamelled in pink and green, the Roman numerals enamelled in blue to match the blued steel hands, the single barrel timepiece movement signed 'THOS COLE LONDON' and numbered 1720,  29.5cm high  The movement is winding and ticking but not fully tested or guaranteed. Provenance: This clock has been in the same English family for at least fifty years.  The unusual enamelled decoration to the dial may indicate that the clock was a special commission, perhaps for a Russian or continental client who admired this type of decoration.  Related Literature: J.B.Hawkins:'Thomas Cole and Victorian Clockmaking' 1975, p. 75 Other examples at auction: See Bonhams, London, 16 December 2015, lot 118 for a similarly sized Thomas Cole strut clock, numbered 1316.