Watch by Edward Prior, United Kingdom, 19th century

Record summary

Held and catalogued by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (object number 07.253.1a–d), this is a watch by Edward Prior, made in United Kingdom, dated 19th century. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Pocket Watches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: Silver, tortoiseshell, coral, enamel. Recorded dimensions: Diameter: 3 1/4 in. (8.3 cm). The record is illustrated with 4 photographs.

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

The source record does not include a narrative description. The structured fields above are reproduced from it.

Atlas type guide

Watches for the Chinese and Ottoman markets

From the late eighteenth century English and Swiss makers produced watches specifically for export to China and the Ottoman Empire. For China, Fleurier houses such as Bovet, Juvet and Vrard made matching pairs of watches with richly engraved and decorated movements, often with the duplex escapement whose centre seconds hand jumps in full seconds. For Ottoman buyers, London makers such as George Prior and Markwick Markham supplied verge watches with Turkish numerals in triple or quadruple cases of tortoiseshell and silver.

These watches reflect global trade networks and the tastes of distant markets, and are important evidence for cross-cultural exchange in horology.

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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