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Clock

Clock

  • Place of origin:

    London (made)

  • Date:

    1850-1900 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Dutton & Co (maker)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Burr walnut veneer with silvered face

  • Museum number:

    W.3-2004

  • Gallery location:

    In Storage

This clock was purchased for use in the offices of the Victoria and Albert Museum, known in the 19th century as the South Kensington Museum. The clock is marked with the maker's name, 'Dutton & Co'. It was retailed by C. Sansom; inside the clock is a paper label: 'C. Sansom, Watch and Clock Makers, 2 Montpelier Street Brompton Road, Clock Makers to the Department of Science and the South Kensington Museum'.

On the clock face are a crown and the initials VR (Victoria Regina), indicating that it was made for official use during the reign of Queen Victoria. Sansom's shop was near to the Museum and supplied several clocks for staff use. This and other selected items of museum furniture have been taken into the permanent collections as illustrations of the kind of plain, good quality furnishings supplied for public offices during the reign of Victoria.

Physical description

Table clock with silvered face in arn arched case veneered in burr walnut, on a rectangular plinth. At the sides, two scrolling brackets carved in solid walnut with scrolling acanthus leaves and a deaisy. Two handles. Roman numerals. At the back is an arched door with a key-hole. With mahogany veneered framework filled with a metal grill of tarnished brass, back with red baize. Some cracks in the veneer of the arched top and an old filled crack above the clock face.

Place of Origin

London (made)

Date

1850-1900 (made)

Artist/maker

Dutton & Co (maker)

Materials and Techniques

Burr walnut veneer with silvered face

Marks and inscriptions

VR
Victoria Regina
on clock face, intials separated by a crown

Dutton & Co
makers name, on clock face

C. SANSOM
Watch and Clock Makers
2 MONTPELIER STREET
BROMPTON ROAD
Clock Makers to the Department of Science and the South Kensington Museum
Paper label stuck inside clock

Dimensions

Height: 38 cm, Width: 38 cm, Depth: 17.5 cm

Object history note

Historical significance: An example of early V&A furnishing, with makers' labels.

Descriptive line

Case veneered in burr walnut, with arched top; from the early furnishings of the V&A

Materials

Walnut; Brass; Baize

Techniques

Veneering; Silvering; Cabinet-making

Categories

Clocks & Watches; Furniture; History of the V&A

Collection

Furniture and Woodwork Collection

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