© National Maritime Museum
Astronomical chronometer
Artist: George Margetts (1748 - 1804), Thomas Earnshaw
Location: National Maritime Museum
Date: circa 1783
Materials: gilt brass, steel, glass, enamel
Dimensions: 41 x 33 x 31cm
Grant:
Amount Paid: £24,000 (Total: £46,637)
Vendor: Christie's
Review number: 4601 (1998)
Provenance:
Paul Mellon collection, previous history unknown
Description:
Watch revolving within a Y-form bracket on a tripod stand with folding feet. The rotating dial of the clock is made of enamel and painted in grisaille with the constellations. Against this, moving gold symbols indicate the positions of the sun and moon. As Jonathan Betts has observed 'such extravagant novelties were ... popular with East India Company officers and ... were almost certainly made ... for the far eastern market.'
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