JOHN JONES, CHESTER. CIRCA 1770

Details

A George III mahogany longcase clock with enamel dial
John Jones, Chester. Circa 1770
The case raised on bracket feet and applied with a raised hollow-cornered panel with wavy outline, trellis-carved applied frets beneath the fluted and brass-capped quarter columns flanking the trunk, the trunk door with unusual moulding and pierced brass escutcheon, further applied fret beneath the convex throat moulding, the hood with detached fluted columns, later pierced mahogany frets beneath the swan-neck pediment with ball-and-spire finials, the enamel dial fired in two sections; the main dial with convex Roman and Arabic chapter ring with pierced steel hands, seconds and calendar aperture in the centre, the fine quality foliate decoration painted in pink grisaille; the arch signed John Jones Chester flanked by further foliate decoration inhabited with song birds, the movement with four pillars, anchor escapement and rack strike on a bell
8ft. 4in. (244cm.) high

Provenance

Sotheby's London, 1 October, 1992, lot 471

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium, which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

18th Century clocks with true enamel dials are extremely rare. Until fairly recently the term enamel was loosely applied to most painted dial clocks using several layers of paint with high lead content. True enamel dials, such as the present example, were made from a mixture of glass, tin oxide, borax, peat ashes and salt. The mixture was melted and turned into moulds to set, it was then ground to a powder and mixed with water. The enamel was then mixed with oil of lavender to make it adhere to the copper dial plate and the mixture was applied with a brush. The dial was then placed in a clay box and fired in a kiln until white hot. Upon reaching the correct temperature it was cooled slowly to prevent cracking. The paint-work was the product of further firings and apparently rose vermillion (used on the present clock) was one of the hardest colours to achieve.
It has plausibly been suggested that the maker of these rare dials was one Anthony Tregent, brother of James Tregent the famous London clockmaker. For a full discussion of these unusual enamel-dialled clocks see Theelke (Anthony) Faces of Mystery, 1983

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