Some time ago, we described a tiny English wall clock by Robert Henderson with an engraved silvered dial that was just eight inches in diameter. Quite against expectations, another such small timepiece has turned up, by the previously unrecorded London maker, George Staples, with features that are even rarer.

Most notable is the fact that the dial is convex instead of flat: this is attractive to look at but diabolically difficult to engrave accurately on the curve. The second feature is that the wooden case is ebonised, as opposed to polished show-wood. Thirdly the brass bezel has an elegantly moulded profile which is replicated exactly in the shape of the wooden moulding which surrounds it.

Dating is speculative but it may be as early as 1760