Longcase clock
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
ca.1725
This English quarter-chiming month-going longcase clock was made in London around 1725 by James Markwick the Younger. Built with a pinewood carcase, the tall case is decorated with japanning in red and gold lacquer over a peacock blue lacquer ground, featuring Chinese figures, vases, and flowering shrubs. The sliding hood has a caddy top, arched and blind frets, glazed break-arch door flanked by brass-capped columns, and hinged side access doors. The upper hood is surmounted by carved and silvered wood finials shaped as urns of flowers on pedestals, complemented by carved decorative brackets beneath the hood moulding. The trunk contains a long rectangular door fitted with a moulded lenticle, positioned over a rectangular base set on a double plinth.
The brass dial features a matted centre, ringed winding holes, urn spandrels, and the engraved inscription "Markwick London". It is fitted with a silvered brass chapter ring showing Roman hour and Arabic minute markings, a subsidiary seconds ring below XII, pierced steel hands, and a calendar indicator within the arch. Driven by three weight-driven trains on grooved drums, the brass and steel movement features a recoil escapement with a pendulum, six finned pillars, inside rack striking on a bell, and quarter chiming.
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
The case is finished in japanning, an English technique devised to imitate imported lacquer from China and Japan. Coloured varnish was applied over a gesso base layer, frequently built up in relief to create a three-dimensional effect across the broad surfaces of domestic furniture. Maker James Markwick the Younger was an established London horologist who belonged to the Clock Makers Company and served as its master in 1720.
Identification
- Source note
- Transcribed from the Victoria and Albert Museum collection record for this single object; how far it represents a wider collectible type has not been independently verified.
- Museum object name
- Longcase clock
- Museum object number
- W.49:1 to 8-1935
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.