Ormolu and Black Marble Mantel Clock by Benjamin Vulliamy
ENGLAND, 1807. Signed on the back of the movement and numbered 457.
12 3/8 x 17 7/8 x 4 in
31.5 x 45.5 x 10 cm
31.5 x 45.5 x 10 cm
6923
Further images
Provenance
Supplied to the Marquis of Blandford (later 5th Duke of Marlborough), 1807
With Biggs of Maidenhead, sold at Grosvenor House Antiques Fair, 1973
UK Private Collection
Literature
The Grosvenor House Antiques Fair Handbook 1973, illustrated p. 28
The drum shaped clock case surmounted by the figure of an eagle with open wings peering to the left, flanked by two naturalistically-cast recumbent lions, on a stepped plinth base...
The drum shaped clock case surmounted by the figure of an eagle with open wings peering to the left, flanked by two naturalistically-cast recumbent lions, on a stepped plinth base with applied ormolu beaded edge over a classical frieze centred by an urn flanked cherubs and griffins with formal floral scrolls, the ends mounted with eagles within laurel wreaths; the gilt dial with Roman numerals, engine turned centre and snake bezel, with open heart-shaped hands, the signed and numbered circular fusee movement with half deadbeat escapement. Some repairs to black marble.
In the early 19th Century, wartime restrictions limited the importation of French luxury goods, and Vulliamy succeeded in filling that gap in the market, supplying the finest ornamental clocks and other richly ornamented works to some of the wealthiest connoisseurs in Britain, including the Prince of Wales, William Beckford and the Marquis of Blandford, from their shop at 74 (later renumbered 68) Pall Mall, Westminster, conveniently close to St James's Palace. (see Roger Smith, ‘Benjamin Vulliamy’s library: a collection of Neo-classical design sources’, Burlington Magazine, June 1999)
This exceptional clock is one of a small group of the same design which Vulliamy refers to in the Order Book as Large black marble clock with lions, New Pattern in 1807. The Marquis of Blandford ordered two; this clock no. 457 and no. 458.
An identical clock (no. 439) was supplied to the Prince of Wales in 1808, and remains in the Royal Collection (https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/31/collection/30042/mantel-clock and was included in the Pictorial Inventory in a drawing by Thomas Talbot Bury (1811-77) RCIN 934769 https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/8/collection/934769/a-mantel-clock ) . Another identical clock (no. 469) was supplied to the Marquis of Bath in 1811 (sold Philip’s, London 10th March 1998, lot 320 for £55,000 plus premium).
The Design:
Vulliamy's earliest ornamental clocks incorporated chaste neo-Classical biscuit figures which were specially modelled for him in London, and then produced to his specifications by the Derby Porcelain Manufactory. However, at the very end of the eighteeth century he responded to the changing tastes of his fashionable customers by starting to produce a range of clocks ornamented in a more robust style. The dominant elements of these clocks were no longer allegorical "Greek" figures in biscuit porcelain, but Imperial Roman eagles and pairs of sphinxes or recumbent lions, made in ormolu or bronze.
Geoffrey de Bellaigue’s study entitled ‘The Vulliamys and France’ (published in The Journal of The Furniture History Society, 1967) discusses in detail the design sources for the identical clock in the Royal Collection. The article also illustrates how the Vulliamys were coordinating a large group of different craftsmen to produce the various elements of the clock, which is also evident in the Order Book which shows all the different individuals involved and what they were paid for their work.
The amount of detail provided by the Order Book is quite exceptional. For example, it shows that the eagle surmount was cast by Barnett, cleaned by Panton, chased by Caney and gilt by Seagrave…but Bellaigue points out that the actual design of the eagle was copied by Vulliamy from Delafontaine; the eminent Parisian bronze manufacturers who supplied various elements to the Vulliamys over several years.
Bellaigue also explains that the frieze design of the mount originates from an engraved design by C.H. Tatham, first published in 1799 and that interestingly Vulliamy used the same source to produce a closely-related mount for the inkstand that he supplied to the Prince of Wales in 1810: https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/14/collection/3614/inkstand
The Marquis of Blandford’s 1807 Order:
This clock was part of group of nine items supplied by Vulliamy and delivered to Lady Blandford on 15th December, 1807:
450 Eight day Spring dial in a mahogany case
451 Egyptian ornamental clock black marble
452 Eight day long clock
453 Eight day long clock
454 Sp. (?) time piece in a red ??? case, the top to resemble an antique sarcophagus
455 Sp. (?) time piece in a red ??? case, the top to resemble an antique sarcophagus
456 Very large China case
457 Large black marble with lions New pattern (this clock)
458 Large marble with lions New pattern
Benjamin Vulliamy (1747-1811):
Benjamin Vulliamy was the eldest son of François Justin Vulliamy (1712–1797), a clockmaker of Swiss origin, who moved to London around 1730. He married the daughter of Benjamin Gray (c. 1676-1764), the then King’s Watchmaker and developed a reputation as a builder of mantel clocks. When Gray died, Vulliamy became a partner in the business at the age of 25 and his talent earned him a Royal Appointment in 1772, through which he received an annual endowment of £150 as George III’s King Clockmaker. Vulliamy personally designed clocks in the latest fashion and then subcontracted and closely supervised their manufacture to various specialists. His success in his designs for clocks led him to create other items such as ink stands and lighting. The Prince of Wales commissioned a range of furnishings for Carlton House and the extravagant Royal Pavilion at Brighton which included clocks and the addition of ormolu mounts for Chinese vases and pagodas. Vulliamy was also commissioned by William Beckford (1760-1844), renowned connoisseur, traveler, gentleman architect and novelist, to whom he delivered his first ‘lion’ clock no. 309 on 5 March 1799.
George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough (1766–1840), styled Marquis of Blandford until 1817: became a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries on 8 December 1803. From 1798, he resided at Whiteknights Park (demolished 1840), near Reading for which he commissioned Egyptian-inspired furnishings, including items by Vulliamy (from 1806 onwards) and further cemented his reputation as a collector and connoisseur of fine furnishings, antiquities and books. Amongst the notable commissions for Whiteknights was a set of mounts of two very large bronze Egyptian heads and four feet for a chimneypiece, which cost £124. (see Geoffrey de Bellaigue, ‘The Vulliamys’ Chimney-Pieces’, Furniture History, 1997, p. 199.)
The Marquis legally changed his name to George Spencer-Churchill on 26 May 1817. Despite his wealth, his extravagant taste led to huge debts and his many of his properties and sold. He lived the remainder of his life at Blenheim Palace funded by a stipend from Queen Anne.
Thomas Coulborn & Sons previously sold another clock by Vulliamy.
In the early 19th Century, wartime restrictions limited the importation of French luxury goods, and Vulliamy succeeded in filling that gap in the market, supplying the finest ornamental clocks and other richly ornamented works to some of the wealthiest connoisseurs in Britain, including the Prince of Wales, William Beckford and the Marquis of Blandford, from their shop at 74 (later renumbered 68) Pall Mall, Westminster, conveniently close to St James's Palace. (see Roger Smith, ‘Benjamin Vulliamy’s library: a collection of Neo-classical design sources’, Burlington Magazine, June 1999)
This exceptional clock is one of a small group of the same design which Vulliamy refers to in the Order Book as Large black marble clock with lions, New Pattern in 1807. The Marquis of Blandford ordered two; this clock no. 457 and no. 458.
An identical clock (no. 439) was supplied to the Prince of Wales in 1808, and remains in the Royal Collection (https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/31/collection/30042/mantel-clock and was included in the Pictorial Inventory in a drawing by Thomas Talbot Bury (1811-77) RCIN 934769 https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/8/collection/934769/a-mantel-clock ) . Another identical clock (no. 469) was supplied to the Marquis of Bath in 1811 (sold Philip’s, London 10th March 1998, lot 320 for £55,000 plus premium).
The Design:
Vulliamy's earliest ornamental clocks incorporated chaste neo-Classical biscuit figures which were specially modelled for him in London, and then produced to his specifications by the Derby Porcelain Manufactory. However, at the very end of the eighteeth century he responded to the changing tastes of his fashionable customers by starting to produce a range of clocks ornamented in a more robust style. The dominant elements of these clocks were no longer allegorical "Greek" figures in biscuit porcelain, but Imperial Roman eagles and pairs of sphinxes or recumbent lions, made in ormolu or bronze.
Geoffrey de Bellaigue’s study entitled ‘The Vulliamys and France’ (published in The Journal of The Furniture History Society, 1967) discusses in detail the design sources for the identical clock in the Royal Collection. The article also illustrates how the Vulliamys were coordinating a large group of different craftsmen to produce the various elements of the clock, which is also evident in the Order Book which shows all the different individuals involved and what they were paid for their work.
The amount of detail provided by the Order Book is quite exceptional. For example, it shows that the eagle surmount was cast by Barnett, cleaned by Panton, chased by Caney and gilt by Seagrave…but Bellaigue points out that the actual design of the eagle was copied by Vulliamy from Delafontaine; the eminent Parisian bronze manufacturers who supplied various elements to the Vulliamys over several years.
Bellaigue also explains that the frieze design of the mount originates from an engraved design by C.H. Tatham, first published in 1799 and that interestingly Vulliamy used the same source to produce a closely-related mount for the inkstand that he supplied to the Prince of Wales in 1810: https://www.rct.uk/collection/search#/14/collection/3614/inkstand
The Marquis of Blandford’s 1807 Order:
This clock was part of group of nine items supplied by Vulliamy and delivered to Lady Blandford on 15th December, 1807:
450 Eight day Spring dial in a mahogany case
451 Egyptian ornamental clock black marble
452 Eight day long clock
453 Eight day long clock
454 Sp. (?) time piece in a red ??? case, the top to resemble an antique sarcophagus
455 Sp. (?) time piece in a red ??? case, the top to resemble an antique sarcophagus
456 Very large China case
457 Large black marble with lions New pattern (this clock)
458 Large marble with lions New pattern
Benjamin Vulliamy (1747-1811):
Benjamin Vulliamy was the eldest son of François Justin Vulliamy (1712–1797), a clockmaker of Swiss origin, who moved to London around 1730. He married the daughter of Benjamin Gray (c. 1676-1764), the then King’s Watchmaker and developed a reputation as a builder of mantel clocks. When Gray died, Vulliamy became a partner in the business at the age of 25 and his talent earned him a Royal Appointment in 1772, through which he received an annual endowment of £150 as George III’s King Clockmaker. Vulliamy personally designed clocks in the latest fashion and then subcontracted and closely supervised their manufacture to various specialists. His success in his designs for clocks led him to create other items such as ink stands and lighting. The Prince of Wales commissioned a range of furnishings for Carlton House and the extravagant Royal Pavilion at Brighton which included clocks and the addition of ormolu mounts for Chinese vases and pagodas. Vulliamy was also commissioned by William Beckford (1760-1844), renowned connoisseur, traveler, gentleman architect and novelist, to whom he delivered his first ‘lion’ clock no. 309 on 5 March 1799.
George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough (1766–1840), styled Marquis of Blandford until 1817: became a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries on 8 December 1803. From 1798, he resided at Whiteknights Park (demolished 1840), near Reading for which he commissioned Egyptian-inspired furnishings, including items by Vulliamy (from 1806 onwards) and further cemented his reputation as a collector and connoisseur of fine furnishings, antiquities and books. Amongst the notable commissions for Whiteknights was a set of mounts of two very large bronze Egyptian heads and four feet for a chimneypiece, which cost £124. (see Geoffrey de Bellaigue, ‘The Vulliamys’ Chimney-Pieces’, Furniture History, 1997, p. 199.)
The Marquis legally changed his name to George Spencer-Churchill on 26 May 1817. Despite his wealth, his extravagant taste led to huge debts and his many of his properties and sold. He lived the remainder of his life at Blenheim Palace funded by a stipend from Queen Anne.
Thomas Coulborn & Sons previously sold another clock by Vulliamy.