Not currently on display at the V&A

Clock

ca. 1820 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This French clock was made about 1820 of Sheffield plate (a thin layer of silver fused to a copper core). This new material was discovered by an Englishman, Thomas Boulsover, in 1742. However, French metalworkers do not seem to have used Sheffield plate until
1770.

In that year a factory was established in Paris under royal patronage for the manufacture of silver-plated dishes. It transferred from the original site at the Hotel de la Fère, rue Beaubourg au Marais to the Quartier Pont au Choux, rue Popincourt. The business, originally conducted by one Degournay, engineer to the king, flourished until Sheffield plate was superseded by electroplating in the 1840s.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Sheffield plate
Brief description
Clock, Sheffield plate, ca. 1820, French
Physical description
Round with porcelain dial, surmounted by a vase, supported on a chain on an oblong base, with four feet
Dimensions
  • Height: 14in
  • Width: 8in
Production typeMass produced
Credit line
Given by Mrs M. D. Chaplin
Production
Silver load date: made ca. 1810
Silver load place: made Germany

Reason For Production: Retail
Summary
This French clock was made about 1820 of Sheffield plate (a thin layer of silver fused to a copper core). This new material was discovered by an Englishman, Thomas Boulsover, in 1742. However, French metalworkers do not seem to have used Sheffield plate until
1770.

In that year a factory was established in Paris under royal patronage for the manufacture of silver-plated dishes. It transferred from the original site at the Hotel de la Fère, rue Beaubourg au Marais to the Quartier Pont au Choux, rue Popincourt. The business, originally conducted by one Degournay, engineer to the king, flourished until Sheffield plate was superseded by electroplating in the 1840s.
Bibliographic references
  • Bamber, Anneke Old Sheffield Plate, Aylesbury, Shire Publicatrions Ltd., 1988 ISBN 085263965
  • Singleton, H. Raymond Old Sheffield Plate Sheffield, Sheffield City Museum, 1966
  • Bradbury, Frederick History of Old Sheffield Plate, London, Macmillan and Co. Ltd., 1912 p.167 ill.
Collection
Accession number
M.646-1936

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Record createdSeptember 30, 2002
Record URL
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