Rare Taxidermy horse hoof watch stand with First World War provenance

This pocket watch stand is made from a horse’s hoof and has the following inscription on the silver plated mount

“”Tommy” A Faithful friend From 1908-1916, Died in France during the Great War 1916”

The horse “Tommy” belonged to General Sir Hubert Gough who was a senior office in the First World War and his biography can be found here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubert_Gough

This watch was purchased in auction and came from direct descendent.

The hoof has a horse shoe stamped “Rowland Ward Ltd, 167 Piccadilly”.

The hoof is topped with a silver plated mount which bears the inscription and watch holder. The holder will take almost any goliath sized watch but comes with one already, which is the original – see below.

The stand measures 150mm x 150mm x 120mm.

The hoof is in perfect condition. The mount is tarnished and stained with a cleaner – illustrating that it could be polished up to a high shine if required

Watch

Goliath 8 day desk watch c1915

This pocket watch has lost its bezel and glass and a synthetic glass has been stick on the front.

Movement – gilt ¾ plate movement has a lever escapement and an 8 day mainspring. The movement has a Patent mark and is in 90% mint condition – light scratches

Case – the movement comes in a white metal open face case, which has a hinged inner, back and no bezel. The case has a smooth plain finish and what is left of the case is in 80% mint condition – tarnished also

Dial – the white enamel dial has a full set of blue steel hands and is in 95% mint condition – some small marks on the edges and tiny flakes

The watch has a plastic cover over the dial

The watch measures 70mm wide x 22mm deep

The watch is stem wound / pin set