This diminutive and rare clock from the Liberty & Co Cymric range is The Sigurd (model No 579), a typical Archibald Knox creation named after the dragon-slaying hero of Norse mythology.

The original pencil sketch for the design still survives and was pictured in the article written by Anthony Bernbaum and published in The Journal of the Archibald Knox Society in 2014.

Standing just over 3in (8cm) high, The Sigurd, with its swollen rectangular body, overhanging mantel and scrolling foliate border, is known in two dial types. One with a white circular dial inscribed Tempus Fugit and a heart motif hallmarked for London 1900 was sold by Woolley & Wallis of Salisbury in June 2015 for £8200.

The example is hallmarked for Birmingham 1903 with its peacock blue and green enamel dial labelled Festina Lente (Make Haste Slowly). That is a similar phrase to the Manx saying Traa dy liooar (Time Enough) preaching a relaxed approach to life that Knox also used on his clock dials.

Only a handful of these clocks have appeared for sale, although the Salisbury price a decade ago provides a good benchmark. Estimated at £5000-6000, this one hammered at Chilcotts at £9500. The sale featured in the Antiques Trade Gazette