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Longcase clock
Markwick, James - Enlarge image
Longcase clock
- Place of origin:
London, England (made)
- Date:
ca.1725 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Markwick, James (the younger) (maker)
- Materials and Techniques:
Wood decorated with japanning
- Museum number:
W.49:1 to 4-1935
- Gallery location:
In Storage
The case of this clock is painted, or ‘japanned’, to imitate the more expensive imported lacquer from Japan and China, and is decorated with Chinese figures, vases and flowering shrubs. Japanning involved applying coats of coloured varnish over a gesso (whiting paste) base layer, which was often built up in relief for a three-dimensional effect. The tall, flat surfaces of long-case clocks provided an ideal opportunity to add such decoration to a domestic room.
James Markwick the Younger, who made this long-case clock in about 1725, was a member of the Clock Makers Company in London, and became master of the Company in 1720.
