Rolling Ball-Driven Mantel Clock

This rare rolling ball driven clock was a Christmas gift from the colony of Malta to the British Consul of Tunis, Mr. R. Drummond Hay, in 1894. It is nearly identical to a clock that was on display at the Exposition Universelle of 1900 and an example in the Forbidden City Collection.

Several large steel balls drive the paddle-wheel and the seven-wheel train to which it is attached. As the wheel rotates, the balls are released into a tray in the base. From there, they must be placed manually into the container above the paddle-wheel by lifting the lion-topped lid. Then, they are once again dropped into the rotating wheel.