A George II Scarlet-Japanned Bracket Clock, Circa 1750
Auction Closed
June 18, 08:33 PM GMT
Estimate
5,000 - 8,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
the 6¾ inch dial with rococo spandrels, matted center with date aperture, central alarm disc and signed on a silvered recessed plaque James Smith, London, the fusee movement with verge escapement, trip repeat striking on a bell, the pull-wound alarm acting on the same bell, the backplate engraved with rococo scrolls and a Ho-Ho bird within a cartouche, the case with bell top, brass carrying handle and cone finials, the whole decorated in red and gilt with chinoiseries; restorations to case
height 18 in.; width 10 ¾ in.; depth 7 ¼ in.
45.7 cm; 27.3 cm; 18.4 cm
Private Connecticut Collection, acquired through Corfield Morris, London;
Sotheby's New York, 20 October 2021, lot 24.
The Register of Apprentices from the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers includes several London-based apprentices named James Smith in this period, including many that were sons of similarly named fathers in clock-making families.1 In Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World, the James Smith on Jermyn Street is described as “Clockmaker to George III”.2 Clocks by James Smith that have appeared at auction tend to be in similar red-japanned cases to the present lot, such as those at Sotheby’s New York, 18 October 2016, lot 283 and Sotheby’s London, 9 November 2022, lot 129.
1 Charles Adward Atkins (ed), The Company of Clockmakers: Register of Apprentices, London, 1931, p.264.
2 Brian Loomes, Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World, London, 2006, p.719