Lock, John Wilkes, Birmingham, 1680-1700

DocumentedSupported by at least one credible specialist source.

Record status

Individual type · partial

Period

1680-1700

Locks and keys were symbols of ownership and authority. Lockplates and key escutcheons, made of highly reflective materials, provided the finishing touches to decorative schemes.

English locksmiths were based mainly in London and the Midlands and were renowned for their ingenuity. Wolverhampton produced, according to one writer in 1686, locks ‘curiously polisht and the keys so finely wrought, that ‘tis reasonable to think they were never exceeded’. The diarist John Evelyn recorded in 1654 that a lock with ‘rare contrivances’ could be viewed as a masterpiece, ‘esteem’d a curiositie even among foraine princes’.

Door lock and hasp with steel mechanism and blued steel covering plate in rectangular pierced brass case, the border engraved with leaves and scrolls, the pierced ornament with twirling vines, sunflowers and tulips. The lower border is signed, "Johannes Wilkes Fecit de Birmingham".

Evidence at a glance

Linked sources: 1
Photograph views: 3
Catalogue references: 0

Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.

Historical context

Locks and keys were symbols of ownership and authority. Lockplates and key escutcheons, made of highly reflective materials, provided the finishing touches to decorative schemes. Unlike later mortise locks that were built into doors and might match the overall decorative scheme of a room, rim locks could be removed when the owner moved house, to be fixed to a door in the new house. The bold proportions and twirling ornament are unmistakeably Baroque and would complement contemporary decoration in the house without necessarily matching exactly. On this example, even the inner workings are finely decorated.

The complicated mechanisms of locks made rooms secure while their intricate patterns in steel and brass turned their locks into works of art. The diarist John Evelyn recorded in 1654 that a lock with ‘rare contrivances’ could be viewed as a masterpiece, ‘esteem’d a curiositie even among foraine princes’.

Physical characteristics

Dimensions: Height: 10.5 cm; Depth: 4.3 cm; Length: 19.0 cm
Materials and techniques: Steel, brass, forged and chiselled, blued

Technical characteristics

Maker recorded: John Wilkes
Place recorded: Birmingham
Production note: A lock with an identical pierced and engraved case signed 'John Webar Fecit" was in the Josiah Parkes Collection in Willenhall suggesting Wilkes may have used the same casemaker.

Identification

Candidate id: vam-O380102
Museum object number: 207-1879
Marks and inscriptions: [{'content': '"Johannes Wilkes Fecit de Birmingham"', 'inscriber': {'name': {'text': '', 'id': ''}, 'association': {'text': '', 'id': ''}}, 'date': {'text': '', 'earliest': None, 'latest': None}, 'description': '', 'interpretation': '', 'language': '', 'medium': '', 'method': '', 'position': '', 'script': '', 'translation': 'Johannes Wilkes made in Birmingham', 'transliteration': '', 'type': '', 'note': 'Lower border signed'}]
Object history (museum record): This lock has open scrollwork in brass contrasting with a ‘blued’ steel base. This type of lock is a rim lock, with its mechanism entirely enclosed in a case to be mounted on a door. This lock has four bolts to control four levels of security. The mechanism of an identical lock in the Peter Phillips Collection was described by its owner as follows: "The master of the house could select, by turning the small knob at the top of the lock, the number of bolts (1 to 4) that he wished to put into operation. When set at number 4, which gives the maximum security, locking the top four bolts is achieved by just the turn of the key, but four turns of the key are required to withdraw these, ie. one at
Source note: Facts transcribed from the linked single-object source. Wider type attribution and authenticity have not been independently verified.