Watch, 1635-1650

Watches at this date were often as much items of jewellery as they are timekeepers. This watch is no exception and its single silver case is of especially high quality.PeopleHenry Terold (his name is also recorded as 'Tirrel' and 'Thorald') is known to have been working in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, in 1621-1622.

Watches bearing his name are known from both Bury and Ipswich.Materials & MakingIt was once assumed that the person whose name appeared on a watch made at least the movement, but the watch industry had specialised workers from an early date. Terold's workshop in Ipswich may have made this movement. However, it is also possible that Terold had the watch made in London and simply put his name on it so he could sell it in Ipswich.The watchcase has unusually fine figures and was almost certainly cast and chased in a major centre of production. Relatively few English craftsmen learned the arts of drawing and modelling that were essential to execute figure scenes. If executed in England, sophisticated work of this kind often turns out to have been the work of foreign artists working in London. Alternatively, the case could have been made in Paris or Blois in France.