AN 18TH CENTURY BLUE JAPANNED LONGCASE CLOCK, BY EDWARD GRATREX, BIRMINGHAM, CIRCA 1760

the hood with a stepped caddy top surmounted by three giltwood flame finials above an arched door with applied columns, with glass panels to either side, above a long door with an arched top above a square base mounted on a plinth, the case is profusely decorated with Japanese scenes of everyday life and floral motifs, the silvered chapter ring with Roman and Arabic numerals, a subsidiary seconds dial and calendar aperture, with a phases of the moon dial above, cast spandrels and an 8 day anchor escapement striking on a bell, dial signed Edward Gratrex Birmingham; 270CM HIGH;

NOTE The dial is boldly signed ' EDWARD GRATREX BIRMINGHAM' on a silvered strip around the arch and this, with the equally large numbers on the moon disc and for the minutes, is quite unusual on Midlands and North Country clocks of the second half of the eighteenth century.

Japannning consists of the application of two or more coats of a varnish consisting of gum-lac, seed-lac or shellac dissolved in spirits of wine. Before varnishing the wood is prepared by coating it with whiting and size. It is then well rubbed down. The gloss obtained depends on the care expended in polishing but the finish is not as durable as true lacquer and, if exposed to damp, it may flake off. Japanning was available in various colours, including red, blue, green, yellow and tortoiseshell, but black was the most common. Decoration in the form of oriental or pseudo-oriental scenes were applied to this ground in various shades of gold with the main features built up of a whiting paste to highlight them. This raised work was usually confined to the trunk door and in some cases the plinth also;

REFERENCE This clock is referred to and illustrated on page 125, figure 6/9 in The Longcase Clock by Tom Robinson, published by Antiques Collector's Club 1982.

PROVENANCE W.F. Bradshaw, Present Owner;