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Clock by John Taylor, 1701–1800 (Siglo XVIII) — view 1 of 1
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Clocks · Clock

Clock by John Taylor, 1701–1800 (Siglo XVIII)

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.
Maker / attribution
John Taylor (Maker)
Date
1701–1800 (Siglo XVIII)
Country of origin
England
Place
Londres
Object type
Clock
Materials / technique
Madera Bronce
Dimensions
Altura = 48 cm Anchura = 27,50 cm Profundidad = 17,50 cm
Holding institution
Cerralbo Museum
Accession / object no.
pages_Main_idt_2009_inventary_02008_table_FMUS_museum_MCM
Credit line
Cerralbo Museum
Catalogue title (original)
Reloj (Spanish)

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Record summary

Held and catalogued by Cerralbo Museum (object number pages_Main_idt_2009_inventary_02008_table_FMUS_museum_MCM), this is a clock by John Taylor, made in Londres, England, dated 1701–1800 (Siglo XVIII). The Atlas places it in the Early Modern Horology period (1600 – 1750) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: Madera Bronce. Recorded dimensions: Altura = 48 cm Anchura = 27,50 cm Profundidad = 17,50 cm. 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

Catalogue description from Cerralbo Museum

Reloj de sobremesa tipo bracket con caja de madera lacada en color castaño, decorado en el frente, la puerta, el faldón y la cúpula con motivos chinescos a base de jarrones con flores y fondos con frutas y hojas. Cuenta con asa abatible en la parte superior que da la idea del carácter de movilidad que tenían estos relojes. Tiene un calendario de fechas en la ventanilla sobre la cifra VI. Está firmado por John Taylor, afamado relojero londinense cuyos bracket fueron especialmente importados a España.

Shown in the original language of the source catalogue. An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.

Historical context

Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)

Huygens' pendulum and balance spring transform accuracy; English makers develop the anchor and deadbeat escapements.

Huygens's pendulum (1656–57) improved clock accuracy from about a quarter of an hour to under a minute a day. The anchor escapement (c. 1670) and the long seconds pendulum created the longcase clock; London makers such as Fromanteel, Knibb, Tompion and Quare led European clockmaking, and French makers created the Boulle pendule.

Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Renaissance Horology

Atlas type guide

Domestic clocks

A clock combines four systems: a source of power (falling weight, coiled spring, or later electricity), a gear train that divides time, an escapement and oscillator that regulate it (foliot, pendulum or balance), and an indicating system of dial and hands or a bell. Its history runs from the large iron weight-driven clocks of the late thirteenth century to Renaissance spring-driven table clocks, the pendulum revolution of 1656, the factory clocks of the nineteenth century and electric and quartz clocks of the twentieth.

Domestic clocks also reflect regional furniture and decorative traditions — English longcase and bracket clocks, French pendules, Viennese regulators, Black Forest and American shelf clocks — and therefore record changing tastes as much as technical progress.

What to look for

  • How the clock is powered: weights, spring barrel, fusee, electric coil.
  • The oscillator: foliot, short pendulum, long seconds pendulum or balance.
  • Whether it strikes: hour only (count wheel) or hours and quarters (rack striking).
  • The maker or retailer's name on dial and movement, and any factory trademarks.
  • Signs of alteration — replaced dials, converted escapements, 'married' cases.

Dating clues

  • Before 1656 clocks used foliots or balances; after, most domestic clocks have pendulums.
  • Anchor escapements spread after c. 1670; minute hands became common at the same time.
  • Factory production in America and Germany transformed prices after c. 1840.

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.

Read next:Verge escapementAnchor (recoil) escapementFoliot

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