A very fine third quarter of the 19th century, dated, Black Forest brass-inlaid walnut automata clock depicting a drinker on a barrel with four automata functions
Retailed by Camerer Kuss & Co, 522, Oxford Street, W.C., LONDON. The barrel dated 1865.
Surmounted by the finely carved figure of a man sitting on a barrel wearing a red cap and star-studded cloak with gold trim, his muscles depicted through the blue tunic which has a wide fancy collar and decorated border, over yellow coloured striped and decorated tights to slip-on mules, his face is naturalistically painted with coiffured hair and a neatly trimmed beard and moustache, with articulated jaw and moving glass eyes, in his left arm he holds a bottle, in his right he holds a goblet, the barrel below him is dated 1865 and realistically rendered with planks, collar and tap, supported on a decorated waisted stand, over the main body of the clock set with a 5 inch signed painted Roman dial with minute track and matching quatrefoil hands, on an ogee-moulded base with brass inlay and shaped apron, a door to the left hand side carries an old label '508'. The spring driven movement with two barrels - one to drive the going train, the other to drive the automata actions on demand by the pulling of a cord to the right hand side of the case. Ticking and fully operational.
51cms (20ins) high.
Footnotes:
Camerer & Co. was established in 1788 by two German clock repairers. Owned and run by various family members over the following 211 years, the company first specialised in importing Black Forest clocks, later expanding their stock to include French and English clocks, as well as English and Swiss watches. In 1852, the firm's name was changed to Camerer Kuss & Co. when a cousin, David Kuss, joined the firm. They won an award in the 1862 Great Exhibition, and others followed; from 1876 to 1901 they advertised that they included Queen Victoria among their clients.

This clock carries an automaton commonly called a 'drinker', trinker. This configuration of the subject sitting/standing on or near a barrel who pours some libations into the glass held in his other hand and then imbibing, has been immortalised as far back as the late 1500's in Augsburg. Interestingly, the earliest 'drinker' was a depiction of Bacchus/Dionysus, the Roman/Greek god of wine. However, by the 19th century, the figure has become Gambrinus, king of beer and brewing in Christian European folklore. This version, sitting with leg crossed is one of the rarest.