Chinoiserie grandfather clock

Dimensions: H × W × D: 236 × 48 × 24 cm

Description:
Antique English longcase clock with fine lacquer decoration.
On a dark green ground, rich golden chinoiserie scenes unfold: splendid temple complexes, figures, exotic birds, flowers and trees.

The main emphasis lies on the front view of the case with its arched door, stepped base, and hood. Supported by four columns and crowned with a pagoda-like top and ball finial, it corresponds to the typical design of London clocks from the mid-18th century. The sides, by contrast, are more modestly decorated with delicate floral motifs.

Characteristic of the time and region is also the arched dial form, which around the beginning of the 18th century replaced the previously common square dial. In this example, the arch houses the strike/silent control, surrounded by fire-gilt appliqués with C-scrolls and shell motifs. Similar ornaments appear in the spandrels of the silvered chapter ring.
Blacked hands and black Roman hours with Arabic minutes on a silver ground ensure good legibility.
Within the dial ring, on a matted and gilt ground, are the subsidiary seconds, the date aperture and the signature of the clockmaker: James Scholefield – London.

The clockmaking family Scholefield is documented over several generations in different horological directories. James Scholefield operated his workshop in London from 1747 to 1760. The present longcase clock is equipped with a weight-driven movement, striking the hours on a bell, with a running time of one week when fully wound.

Background:
In 17th-century England, black lacquer with gilt decoration became fashionable and was also very popular for clock cases. Originally, these were true Asian lacquer works, but as the resins used in China and Japan were not available in Europe, and importing authentic Asian lacquerwork was costly and risky, European craftsmen soon developed their own methods. In 1688, John Stalker and George Parker published A Treatise in Japanning and Varnishing, which provided detailed instructions for European lacquer techniques. Numerous other manuals soon followed, offering recipes for lacquers and methods of gilding and polishing.
Japanning involved applying multiple coats of lacquer or oil paint, allowing them to dry, carefully sanding them, and creating raised scenes in gesso, which were then finished with further coats of lacquer and decoration in gold or brass powder. From the 1730s onwards, reliefs were abandoned and instead smooth dark oil-painted surfaces were created, decorated with gold paint or leaf and overvarnished.

Such lacquered clock cases reflected the contemporary taste for exoticism and combined European horology with a Far Eastern-inspired surface aesthetic.

Condition:
Restored, fully functional and authentic condition. The movement has been dismantled, cleaned and overhauled. The case has been cleaned, and the lacquer stabilised and retouched.

Price: €3,700