Clocks · Bracket clock (miniature)
A miniature bracket clock, gilt brass and lacquered silver, signed George Prior, London, circa 1800
- Maker / attribution
- George Prior (made)
- Date
- 1800
- Historical period
- Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
- Country of origin
- England
- Place
- London
- Object type
- Bracket clock (miniature)
- Materials / technique
- The case of gilt brass and lacquered silver; the cylindrical lead weight in brass casing
- Dimensions
- Height: 8 3/8 in; Width: 2 1/2 in
- Holding institution
- Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- Accession / object no.
- M.824-1928
- Credit line
- Given by Sir Charles Marling KCMG 1928
Record summary
Held and catalogued by Victoria and Albert Museum, London (object number M.824-1928), this is a bracket clock (miniature) by George Prior, made in London, England, dated 1800. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: The case of gilt brass and lacquered silver; the cylindrical lead weight in brass casing. Recorded dimensions: Height: 8 3/8 in; Width: 2 1/2 in. The record is illustrated with 1 photograph.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
V&A — Summary
A miniature bracket clock in a gilt-brass and lacquered silver case, surmounted by a crescent moon, with bracket made by George Prior, London for the Turkish market, circa 1800. English custom books document the export of time-pieces to Scandinavia, Northern Europe, Russia, Italy, Barbados and North America; clocks and watches intended for the Turkish market have Turkish numerals and other features such as the crescent moon and Sultan's cypher surmounting this clockcase. George Prior (1735-1814) was the most significant clockmaker exporting clocks and watches to Turkey in the late 18th century. In order to supply an expanding trade he also retailed clocks made by other makers, adding his name to the clock faces. He exported thousands of watches, and a smaller number of lantern clocks and musical bracket clocks. For other clocks by George Prior see references.
V&A — Physical description
A miniature square bracket clock on four feet, attached to a bracket, the case of gilt brass and lacquered silver, surmounted by a crescent and the Sultan of Turkey's cypher (tugra) on the front. The dial has Turkish numerals; there is a cylindrical weight in brass casing. The dial is signed GEORGE PRIOR LONDON
V&A — Object history
Given by Sir Charles Murray Marling KCMG (1862-1933), British Ambassador in Iran, 1905-1907. His gifts to the V&A in 1928 included two celestial globes and an astrolabe.
Inscriptions & marks
GEORGE PRIOR LONDON
Historical context
Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
Harrison solves longitude; Mudge invents the lever; Breguet's Paris workshop defines the modern watch.
The age of the deadbeat escapement, compensated pendulums and observatory regulators. Domestic clocks spread through the middle classes: English longcase and bracket clocks, French gilt-bronze mantel clocks, Viennese Biedermeier wall clocks, Black Forest painted-shield clocks, and the first American shelf clocks.
Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Early Modern Horology
Atlas type guide
Bracket, table and spring-driven clocks
Spring-driven clocks freed timekeeping from the hanging weight. The coiled mainspring, documented from the fifteenth century, made portable table clocks possible; to even out its declining force, makers used the fusee, a conical pulley connected to the barrel by a gut line or chain. Renaissance table clocks from Augsburg and Nuremberg — drum-shaped, square or tower-shaped in gilt brass — were luxury scientific objects, often with astronomical dials and alarms.
After the pendulum, English makers developed the bracket clock: a wooden case with a carrying handle, a short pendulum with a verge escapement, and often repeating work to sound the hours on demand at night. Later examples use the anchor escapement. In the nineteenth century, 'table clock' became a broad term for spring clocks of every nationality.
What to look for
- A fusee in the movement (cone-shaped pulley) and the type of line — gut or chain.
- Verge escapement with a short bob pendulum, often with a decoratively engraved backplate.
- Repeat cords or buttons that make the clock strike again on demand.
- Gilt-brass engraved cases and horizontal dials on Renaissance pieces.
- Case shapes: inverted bell, bell top, break-arch, lancet or balloon.
Dating clues
- Drum and tower table clocks: c. 1520–1650.
- Ebony veneered English bracket clocks with verge escapements: c. 1670–1800.
- Engraved backplates were usual on English clocks until c. 1800, then generally plain.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
Related records
Clocks · ca. 1790
Bracket clock by George Prior, England, ca. 1790
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Clocks · ca. 1800
Bracket clock, inscribed ‘George Prior, London’, and made about 1800
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Clocks · 1711–1827
Longcase clock by David Roentgen ( - ), England, 1711–1827
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Clocks · 1740-1760
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Clocks · 1751
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Clocks · ca. 1760
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Clocks · 1766
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Clocks · 1768-1769
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