A Magnificent and Highly Important George III Derby Porcelain and Jasperware Ormolu-Mounted Clock by Benjamin Vulliamy, Numbered 183 Circa 1790

with a Duesbury biscuit figure modeled as a figure of Andromache gazing at an ormolu classical urn with a flame-form finial and with foliate collars, the enamel chapter ring with Roman numerals showing the hours and minutes and with two entwined snakes, one indicating the time with its tongue, supported on a plain socle above an upright ormolu plinth, the corners mounted with goats' heads above pendant berried husks, with panelled sides, the front ornamented with an oval jasperware plaque depicting the Three Graces on a lilac ground, within a berried husk mount suspended from swags of berried husks lifting to reveal winding holes, the left side similarly mounted, the plaque lifting to show the movement, the back with a sliding panel opening to the movement, the square plinth with foliate ornament and engraved on the lower left corner Vulliamy London 183, the stepped rectangular white statuary marble rectangular base with ormolu pearl beading, panelled sides inset with ormolu mounts cast with enjoined stylized fleurs de lys, the conforming ormolu base with a foliate molding, the back-plate of the clock with engraved foliate ornament and engraved Vulliamy 183, and retaining the original ebony and brass pendulum together with the original brass key similarly engraved and numbered.

The Hope Family, Luffness Castle, Luffness, Aberlady, East Lothian, Scotland

Hotspur Ltd., London

Apollo, October 1990, ‘Vulliamy Clocks and British Sculpture’, Timothy Clifford, pp. 226-237, fig. 6

This superb clock by Benjamin Vulliamy (1747-1811) of 74-76 Pall Mall, and King George III’s clock-maker, clearly illustrates his skill in combining his skill as an inventive clock-maker with others such as sculptors, modelers in porcelain and workers in metal. It is representative of a small group of similar clocks which are ‘Among the most handsome decorative art objects made in Britain during the last quarter of the 18^th century’ (Apollo, op. cit.,1990).

The Vulliamys were of Swiss extraction, holding the Royal Warrant from the 1740s, the firm being run by Benjamin’s father Justin, who was in partnership with Benjamin Gray (1676-1764), Watchmaker in Ordinary to George II, marrying his daughter in 1746. In later years Benjamin was joined by his own son, Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy (1780-1854). The firm had a distinguished list of clients, besides George III and the Prince of Wales, porcelain-mounted clocks similar to the present lot being purchased by the Dukes of Marlborough, Northumberland and Devonshire.

This group as a whole owes its origins to the association of William Duesbury the younger (1763-1796), proprietor of the Derby porcelain factory, with Benjamin Vulliamy ‘who assumed the role of client, critic, and mentor’ (Apollo, op. cit., 1990), although it is possible that Vulliamy had also previously collaborated with his father William Duesbury (1725-1586). Duesbury’s porcelain figures, although made at the Derby factory, appear to have been modeled in London by sculptors working for Vulliamy, who obviously retained the copyright, and the models did not become factory stock-in-trade.

The composition of Andromache can with certainty be ascribed to the sculptor John Bacon R. A. (1740-1799) as comparison can be made with his drawings for a monument to John Dorrien Esq., of Berkhempstead, Hertfordshire, and also to a memorial tablet to William Mason in Westminster Abbey. Both of these depict a figure of Hope beside an urn, her pose being directly linked to the present figure. The actual modeling would have been undertaken for Vulliamy by John Deare (1759-1798), a young sculptor from Liverpool whose name is first mentioned in a letter from Vulliamy to William Duesbury II on May 31, 1784. Deare had written to his father in Liverpool on September 15, 1783 that ‘Mr. Bacon came after me, and wanted me to model him some figures for a monument, which I agreed to do….This you must think no small honour, for the first man in the kingdom in sculpture to come after me himself’. It is probable that Bacon alone was responsible for the first of the Andromache figures supplied by Duesbury to Justin Vulliamy (Journal II 1991, op. cit., fig. 11). Clifford compares this figure to the later model by Deare supplied to Benjamin Vulliamy, as in the present example, declaring that ‘The most notable difference is of spirit; the Justin Vulliamy clock figure is more ‘antique’, as if neatly detached from a classical sarcophagus’. He continues that the Deare model ‘although very similar looks less schematized, is more natural – even modern – with light and shade expressing the drapery contours even in triangles and zigzags’. He further declares that ‘The conception of both models, however, is entirely consistent with Bacon’s style as it developed....but in the second Andromache, the modeling seems to betray Deares’s qualities and idiosyncrasies’. In 1784 some of Deare’s models were damaged in transit from London to Derby, and after some fierce complaints he appears to have become disillusioned and does not appear to have worked for Vulliamy again. In May of 1785 he left for Italy where he seems to have prospered, dying prematurely in Rome in 1798.

The ormolu mounts which ornament the cases of Vulliamy’s clocks were presumably designed and made in his workshop, whereas the various Wedgwood medallions were acquired from the factory at Etruria. For example The Ornamental Ware Order Book for the 7 November 1801 records cameos in black and white and lilac and white jasper ‘for Mr Vulliamy’.

Nine other clocks of this model are recorded with the single figure of Andromache, although it was also used by Vulliamy together with a putto. They are variously mounted with Wedgwood jasper plaques the subjects including the Three Graces, as in the present clock, Apollo Musagettes, and a profile of Alexander the Great. Other recorded examples are ornamented with an ormolu eagle within a wreath, and a lyre mounted with sunburst.

Although all the cases conform to a common pattern, with the figure of Andromache to the right and the urn and pedestal to the left, they are mounted in ormolu in various degrees of both quality and richness of ornament. The present clock appears to be one of the most lavish creations of the group, the marble base being fully ornamented and with a further ormolu mount below.

They are variously signed, dated or numbered including the date 1787, and the numbers 228, 243, and 273 (see: Clifford, Journal II for a comprehensive list).

Unfortunately, Vulliamy’s earlier ledgers, which would have recorded full details of the manufacture of these clocks, together with the name of the clients who purchased them, have been lost. The excellence and detail of these lost ledgers is evidenced by those surviving from the years 1797-1806 and 1820-1831 now in the possession of the Royal Horological Society. Recent research by Roger Smith (op. cit., 1994) has brought clarity to the situation by proving that Vulliamy almost certainly did not begin to number his clocks until 1788, at which time the first number was almost certainly 160. The earliest recorded number is 167 which is found on a clock in the collection of the Duke of Northumberland at Syon House. A substantial payment is recorded to Vulliamy from the Duke in 1788 which almost certainly refers to this clock. Other numbered clocks with early numbers were supplied by Vulliamy to the Prince of Wales and the King, number 170 occurring in the Royal papers in 1788, numbers 194 and 197 being supplied in 1790. These precise dates allow the present clock almost certainly dated to the year 1789.

Luffness Castle, or House, was acquired by Charles Hope, 1^st Earl of Hopetoun in the early 18^th century. The house had been built on the site of a 13th century medieval castle which was destroyed by the English in the middle of the 16^th century. It was rebuilt by Sir Patrick Hepburn, a member of the family of Bothwell, third husband of Mary Queen of Scots. It was subsequently acquired from the Durhams who sold it to the Hopes, a branch of that family still living at the house. It is not known when it was acquired by the Hope family, although its immaculate condition indicates that it was probably original acquired by them from Vulliamy. 

See:

Alison Kelly, Decorative Wedgwood in Architecture and Furniture, London, 1962, pp. 110-112

Country Life, June 15, 1967, ‘A Clockmaker's Taste for Ceramics’, Alison Kelly, 1526-1528

Robin Reilly, Wedgwood, London, 1989, vol. I, pl. 770, vol. II, p. 498, p. 843-844

Apollo Magazine, October, 1990, ‘Vulliamy Clocks and British Sculpture’, Timothy Clifford, pp. 226 – 237

Derby Porcelain International Society, Journal II, 1991, ‘New Evidence Concerning Vulliamy Clocks and Duesbury Porcelain’, Timothy Clifford, pp. 35-52, figs. 3 and 11

Elizabeth Bryding Adams, The Dwight and Lucille Beeson Wedgwood Collection at the Birmingham Museum of Art, 1992, p. 362, fig. 931, for an identical medallion of ‘The Three Graces’, with the same lilac wash, the reverse marked ‘WEDGWOOD’ with ‘147’ in script, circa 1800

Antiquarian Horology, Autumn, 1994, ‘Vulliamy Clock Numbering – A Postscript’, Roger Smith, pp. 427-429

Apollo Magazine, June 1995, ‘Benjamin Vulliamy’s painted satinwood clocks and pedestals’, Roger Smith