Cross Beat Monstrance Clock” Casper II Buschmann

“Cross Beat Monstrance Clock” Casper II Buschmann, Augsburg, circa 1590. Highly important ebony, gilt brass, enamel and lapis lazuli astronomical, hour striking, pre-balance spring, single-hand clock with cross-beat escapement, days of the week, date, manual perpetual calendar, and phases and age of the moon. Designed as a monstrance, ebony on gilt brass feet, gilt brass panels to the sides and the back finely pierced and engraved with scrolling foliage, the back hinged, molded base with a drawer for the key with a handle in the form of a gilt bronze figure of a king with a scepter in his right hand for indication of day of week, frame for the days of the week dial with lapis lazuli decoration on each side, above the main dial within a molded frame and columns on each side, four gilt brass finials supported by lapis lazuli brackets, domed top with lapis lazuli brackets on each side and four finely pierced and engraved gilt brass panels, surmounted by a gilt bronze statue of a woman in classical dress holding a mirror. Mounted on rectangular gilt brass plate engraved with floral motifs, applied brass ring with radial Roman numerals and fleur-de-lis half-hour divisions, inner silver 30-day date ring with radial Arabic numerals with “Z” for numeral “2”, innermost phases of the moon in acircular aperture and its age in a sector aperture, outermost silver manual perpetual calendar ring with months and corresponding number of days with a blued steel pointer at the top. Blued ste