Object Number 1984.0029

Object Name

Watch stand (Watch holder)

Category

Metals

Credit Line/Donor

Museum purchase with funds provided by the Special Fund for Collection Objects

Place of Origin

Birmingham, West Midlands, England, United Kingdom, Europe

Origin Notes

The creation location was identified as probably Birmingham, England by a previous cataloguer [Lorena Baines, 2007].

Date

1760-1780

Subjects

Allegory

Materials

Brass; Copper; Steel

Techniques

Cast

Dimensions (inches)

14.5 (H) , 5.37 (W) , 4.5 (D)

Dimensions (centimeters)

36.83 (H) , 13.65 (W) , 11.43 (D)

Object Description

Web - 04/26/2018

Shells, rose blossom garlands, and bulrushes swaying in an imaginary breeze leave no doubt that nature’s elements inspired the form of this highly-finished brass watch stand. The golden color and allegorical figure of Father Time (Chronos) with a cockrel (day), owl (night), and a cherub add layers of refinement to this sculptural pocket watch holder. England’s brass workers sometimes directly copied such French rococo design elements to appeal to venturesome, small Francophile markets at home and in British colonies. A British brass founder's pattern book printed in about 1770 includes a nearly identical design for this watch stand. In Japan, at least one ceramic version (Arita ware) was produced around the same time.

Bibliography and Bibliographic Notes

[Book] Fennimore, Donald L. 1996 Metalwork in Early America: Copper and Its Alloys from the Winterthur Collection.
• Published: cat.195, p.299
[Article] Goodison, Nicholas. 1975 The Victoria and Albert Museum’s Collection of Metal-Work Pattern Books. Furniture History. 11: 1-30.
• p. 12, No. 3,M.60b, accession nos. E.3651 to 3663-1910 and illustration no. 7
[Book] Howard, David Sanctuary & Ayers, John. 1978 China for the West.
• p. 136, Figs. 115, 155a
[Book] Gentle, Rupert, et al. 1994 Domestic Metalwork 1640-1820.
• Similar objects, p. 366.