LONDON.- An important mid-17th century German clock this week nearly tripled its pre-sale estimate of £50,000-70,000, selling for £134,500 in Bonhams’ 16 December Fine Clocks sale at Bonhams New Bond Street.

The strikingly beautiful bronze mounted ebony table clock features a vertical sundial and is raised on the shoulders of a richly patinated bronze figure of Atlas, who in Greek mythology was given the task of bearing the spheres of the skies on his shoulders by Zeus as punishment for leading the Titans in their battle with the Olympian Gods to control the heavens.

Made by Davidt Buschmann, the clock comes from the legendary collection of Harry Vehmeyer. Over the course of a long life-time – he died aged 90 in 2008 - Vehmeyer built up one of the finest private collections of horology in Europe. Harry and his wife Olga believed that clocks were not simply mechanical objects, but should be considered works of art in their own right.

The gilt brass dial of the clock is engraved with signs of the Zodiac and degrees of latitude, which sit above three silvered subsidiary dials, including a dial for the date and age of the moon.

“There is something other-worldly about this clock”, said James Stratton, Bonhams’ Head of Clocks. “The exceptional price it has achieved is testament to the degree of skill and intricate craftsmanship behind its creation.”

A further highlight from the Vehmeyer collection was an exceptional 17th century German Automata Turmchenuhr clock, which sold for £105,700. Made by Nikolaus Schmidt in the early 1600s, the gilt bronze clock features a cupola surmounted by a standing warrior brandishing a staff in his right hand and steadying a shield engraved with four eagles and the initials FGMC with his left. The initials almost certainly refer to the clock's owner whose identity is now lost.

A large number of other lots in the sale sold for well over their pre-sale estimates. A late 16th century French gilt brass circular ‘tambour’ table clock sold for £36,250, more than six times its pre-sale estimate of £6,000-9,000, while an early 20th century gold and sapphire mounted nephrite desk timepiece by Cartier smashed its estimate of £6,000-8,000 to sell for £27,500.