Clock — Metropole, Sowden, George J., Italy, 1982
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1982
Clock — Metropole, Sowden, George J., Italy, 1982 is an object recorded by Victoria and Albert Museum, dated 1982. The museum's brief description reads: Clock, wood, plastic laminates and clock movement, 'Metropole', by George J.
Sowden, designed and made for Memphis, Italy, 1982.. Museum description: Wooden clock in a plastic laminate box, based on a series of squares. The rectangular upper box holds the clock movement, the dial is on the front side. It rests on 3 cubes under each other, covered with plastic laminates with the same pattern. The lower cube is always of a smaller size than the upper one. The base is a square block, covered with black plastic laminate.
There is a square plate under each cube. The one under the upper cube is black and supported by four legs, projecting from the base. The plate under the middle cube is green, under the lower cube yellow. It is supported by four pink cylindrical poles standing on small rectangular boxes projecting from the base. The clock arrived at the Museum in its original wooden Memphis shipping crate. The museum record gives material recorded as wood, plastic laminate; measurements Height 31.6 in; Length 9.4 in; Width 9.4 in; place associated: Italy, Italy; maker recorded: Sowden, George J., Verdi, Giuseppe.
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
George J. Sowden studied architecture at the Gloucester School of Art and later started to work in London as an architect. After reading one of Ettore Sottsass’s articles he wrote a letter to Sottsass who invited him to Milan. Sowden became a core, and the only British member of Memphis. The ‘Metropole’ clock is one of his best known designs for the group. Influenced by his early architectural training, Sowden was interested in classical proportions at the time. As a result the clock is unusually harmonious for a postmodern object. Sowden used the ‘golden section’ – derived ratios and squares as compositional elements. However, the small clock movement is in an unnecessarily huge box. As Sowden himself described, its anti-functionalism makes the ‘Metropole’ clock a postmodern object. The clock was designed ‘on the kitchen table’, without the use of computer. Sowden chose particular patterns of plastic laminate to decorate the form. Like many other early Memphis objects, the ‘Metropole’ clock was named after a luxury hotel.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- wood, plastic laminate
- Dimensions
- Height 31.6 in; Length 9.4 in; Width 9.4 in
Technical characteristics
- Technique
- Clock in wood, multi-coloured plastic laminates, clock movement
- Maker recorded
- Sowden, George J., Verdi, Giuseppe
- Place recorded
- Italy, Italy
Design
- Inscriptions recorded
- 'MEMPHIS / MILANO / G. SOWDEN / 1982 / MADE IN ITALY'
Identification
- Museum attribution
- Sowden, George J.
- Museum object name
- Clock
- Museum object number
- W.31-2010
- Museum system number
- O1176221
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 museum record and a specialist reference.