Bracket clock, Prior, George, London, ca. 1790
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
ca. 1790
Bracket clock, Prior, George, London, ca. 1790 is an object recorded by Victoria and Albert Museum, dated ca. 1790. The museum's brief description reads: BRACKET CLOCK Painted deal with glass and ormolu Inscribed "George Prior, London" and made about 1790-1810 Bracket clock with painted floral decoration, glass dome and spheres with crescent-moon finials, supplied by George Prior for the Turkish market in about 1790.. Museum description: Summary description A large table clock with a cream and floral painted case, cut-glass columns, glass dome and spheres, with gilt-brass fittings including crescent moon finials. The clock face has Arabic numerals. Decorative scheme The clock case has a complex decorative scheme evoking fantasy architecture, the top decorated to suggest minarets with fixed, facetted glass spheres which sparkle in the light. The reflective gilt-brass fittings and the pastel painted decorative scheme also give a light and airy impression. In the centre a cut-glass sphere rises above a facetted and textured cut-glass dome, both held in place by a vertical gilded wood rod. Above this is a tall brass finial surmounted by an upturned crescent moon. There are four matching glass spheres with tall crescent finials, one at each corner of the case, supported on small painted pedestals. The dome is raised on a… The museum record gives material recorded as wood, glass, brass, brass, paint; measurements Height 74 cm; Width 40 cm; Depth 23.5 cm; place associated: London; maker recorded: Prior, George, Thwaites, John. These details come from the holding museum's own record; how far this object represents a wider collectible type has not yet been independently verified.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- 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
During the late 18th and early 19th century clocks and watches were made in Britain in considerable numbers for export to Turkey. George Prior was one of the most significant clockmakers who took part in this trade. Although he was a trained clockmaker himself, the trade was so large that Prior bought clocks and watches in large numbers from wholesalers such as Ainsworth and his son John Thwaites, who supplied a range of clockmakers, and put their own name on the dials and the movements. Ainsworth Thwaites worked from 1740 to 1780. John Thwaites was apprenticed to his father in 1772 and traded under his own name from premises at 4 Rosoman's Row, Clerkenwell, London, until 1816. The movement for this clock is engraved 'I. Thwaites' indicating that it was made by John Thwaites. Later, from 1817 to 1842, he was in partnership with Reed. The clockmaking trade was made up of small workshops each specialising in a separate skill, suggesting that the clock case might have been made in case-making workshop, painted in a specialist decorative painting workshop, and assembled in a third workshop belonging to Thwaites or to George Prior himself. Clock suppliers such as Prior bought finished clocks from wholesalers such as Thwaites, then signed and sold them under their own name. Prior's name was established as a reliable exporter of clocks to Turkey and there was evidently considerable demand for clocks signed by him. Prior traded through British merchants established in Turkish ports.…
Physical characteristics
- Material
- wood, glass, brass, brass, paint
- Dimensions
- Height 74 cm; Width 40 cm; Depth 23.5 cm
Technical characteristics
- Technique
- Wood, painted, with cut glass ornaments, stamped and gilt brass mounts, and a brass clock movement. The oil paint is applied thinly and was covered by a transparent varnish. The painting, in pastel tones over a yellow ground, is small scale but looks quickly done and of a similar nature to that on…
- Maker recorded
- Prior, George, Thwaites, John
- Place recorded
- London
Design
- Inscriptions recorded
- GEORGE PRIOR/LONDON; I Thwaites 9; CHIME/NOT CHIME; 1 MALBROUCK, 2 SAMAHE, 3 DANCE, 4 SONG TURK; CHIME, NOT CHIME; 1 MALBROUCK, 2 SAMAHE, 3 DANCE, 4 SONG TURK
Identification
- Museum object name
- Bracket clock
- Museum object number
- W.1:1, 2-1971
- Museum system number
- O52937
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: confirm materials, dimensions, maker and wider type against the holding institution and a specialist reference.