Clock case, Jasperware with applied reliefs, Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, Barlaston, 1998 — view 1 of 1
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Movements & Components · Clock case

Clock case, Jasperware with applied reliefs, Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, Barlaston, 1998

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.
Maker / attribution
Josiah Wedgwood and Sons (Manufacturers)
Date
1998
Country of origin
Unrecorded in source
Place
Barlaston
Object type
Clock case
Materials / technique
Jasperware with applied reliefs
Dimensions
Height: 120 mm; Length: 105 mm
Accession / object no.
WE.18535-2014
Credit line
V&A Wedgwood Collection. Presented by Art Fund with major support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, private donations and a public appeal.

View the source record ↗

Record summary

Held and catalogued by Victoria and Albert Museum, London (object number WE.18535-2014), this is a clock case by Josiah Wedgwood and Sons, made in Barlaston, dated 1998. The Atlas places it in the Mechanical Renaissance period (1990 – 2010) of its Movements & Components collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: Jasperware with applied reliefs. Recorded dimensions: Height: 120 mm; Length: 105 mm. 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 — Physical description

Clock case, blue jasperware with white applied relief. Domed shape, front and back with circular holes for clock insert. On front below the circular hole is a white applied relief decoration depicting a putti playing a violin, with other putti dancing to the music played, either side of case with white relief of classical female figures, top of case with a floral relief. Large laminated label attached with plastic tag.

Inscriptions & marks

WEDGWOOD / MADE IN / ENGLAND' (impressed); 'C' (impressed); 'B155' (marked in pencil)

Historical context

Mechanical Renaissance (1990 – 2010)

Mechanical watches return as cultural objects; independent watchmaking flourishes.

New mechanical calibres, co-axial and other escapements, and silicon components renewed mechanical movement design.

Read the period in the timelineMore movements & components from this periodEarlier: Quartz Revolution

Atlas type guide

Cases, keys and accessories

Clock and watch cases protect the movement and express taste and status. Watch cases were made by separate specialist case-makers whose marks, along with assay hallmarks, help to date and place them. Clock cases were the work of cabinet-makers, bronze founders, ceramic factories and silversmiths, so they belong as much to the history of decorative arts as to horology.

Keys, chatelaines, watch stands, watch papers and winding tools are part of the material culture of timekeeping: they show how timepieces were worn, displayed, wound and maintained.

What to look for

  • Case maker's sponsor's marks and assay hallmarks in gold and silver cases.
  • Materials: shagreen, tortoiseshell, enamel, porcelain, jasperware, gilt bronze.
  • Breguet-style ratchet keys, crank keys and watch-key fobs.
  • Engraved names, presentations and dates.

Dating clues

  • English hallmark date letters allow exact dating of the case assay.
  • Porcelain cases from Meissen and Sèvres: mostly eighteenth century.

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.

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