Red Turtleshell Table Clock The hugely successful clockmaker, Daniel Quare, made this exceptional little red turtleshell and ormolu, hour striking, horizontal table clock.[1] The clock’s case is a work of decorative art in of itself, brimming with high-specification details. These include the exotic and costly use of red turtleshell for the veneer that covers each side of the unusual octagonal shaped case. The clock also boasts numerous custom gilt mounts and decorations. Added extras also ensure that it functioned perfectly as a portable boudoir alarm clock. All this suggests that it was a special commission for a well-to-do traveller. In sum, the clock is a miniature masterpiece. Based on a form that harkens back to the early days of horology, its design expertly brings together luxury and technical brilliance in a small package. Custom gilt mounts and decorations The clock is lavishly decorated. Stand-out features and decorative elements include four foliate pierced and engraved gilt spandrels. Each is mounted on the chamfered corners of the horizontal dial. There are also four ribbon-tied foliate ormolu mounts, one on each side of the case’s chamfered angles. Then, on each side of the case, perfectly framed within the shiny red turtleshell veneer, is an extremely delicate, wafer-thin, gilt metal fret. Each of the four frets has a backing of neutral-coloured woven cloth, which allows the striking sound out. The clock’s case is supported by four exquisite gilt brass, foliate scrolled feet. These rest on a purpose-made ebonised plinth base that is both elegant and practical, as it provides stability and protects the scrolled feet from wear and tear. Red turtleshell: exotic and costly Quare’s use of costly and exotic red turtleshell veneer on the clock’s case was the epitome of luxury at the time. During the 1660s, after the Restoration of Charles II, trade began to open in Britain. Clockmakers had increasing access to valuable and previously unavailable materials, and they began using colonial imports of raw materials such as rosewood, olivewood and red turtleshell for the cases of their clocks. These clocks were of high-specification and costly. Red turtleshell was used to embellish expensive clock cases and various other decorative art objects during the 16- and 1700s in Britain and Europe. Its shiny and transparent quality made it an especially coveted material for inlays in marquetry and Boulle work on clocks and furniture. Quare used red turtleshell frequently. In addition to being an element of this table clock, red turtleshell is used on his Boulle longcase with subsidiary dials, made around 1670 (coming soon to Clocktime); his impressive year-going Boulle longcase, made around 1695 (exhibited on Clocktime); and his repeating bracketed spring clock No. 47, made around 1705 (also coming soon to Clocktime). Quare’s contemporaneous colleague Thomas Tompion also used this material for some of his high-end productions, for example the famous ‘Queen Mary Tompion’ with Boulle work, made around 1693.[2] Red turtleshell in its raw form is found throughout South America, from Panama to Argentina. It was sourced primarily from the harvesting of scutes. Scutes are the specialised plates or scales on a turtle’s shell. The hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata) has blonde-orange scutes. Anatomist Cornelius van Dyk (active 1665–1680) describes some of the characteristics of these red turtleshell scutes in his Osteolegia.[3] Scutes were harvested from the turtles by using a heating process, which the turtles did not survive. It was an irrefutably cruel operation. Once harvested, the red turtleshell was imported in its raw form. The trade in red turtleshell (and all tortoise shell-related trade, for that matter) was officially prohibited in 1977 in the conservation treaty known as CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). At that time, more than 45 countries were involved in importing and exporting raw turtleshell. A timeless design Quare designed this clock based on the horizontal table clock form, a design associated with the early days of horology. Specifically, it recalls older, small, highly technical, superbly detailed table clocks such as the miniature astrological table clock made about 100 years earlier, around 1600, by Nicholas Vallin, as well as the exquisitely beautiful gilt cubic table clock made by Ahasuerus Fromanteel and Edward East almost 60 years earlier, around 1640 (both are exhibited on Clocktime). Horologist Dr John C. Taylor explains that, with the invention of the domestic pendulum clock in 1656, clockmakers abandoned the horizontal table clock form because it was at odds with the new technology.[4] It did not facilitate the installation of movement plates large enough to accommodate the swing of the pendulum in a vertical plane. In their heyday, horizontal table clocks were made to accommodate a balance wheel, an older and inferior timekeeping mechanism. Makers were not about to sacrifice the newfound accuracy of the pendulum for the sake of a beautiful form. Thus, most makers were compelled to create other types of clocks that could accommodate the swing of a pendulum. With this table clock, Quare excelled himself by designing the clock to facilitate a calibrated short pendulum with pear-shaped bob. Thus, he managed to bring the old form back in style while also accommodating the latest pendulum technology. Antiquarian Johnny Carter observes that the clock’s form also shares similarities with German and Dutch table clocks made around the same time, specifically citing the clock’s horizontal dial, its movement with horizontal plates, and its short bob pendulum that could swing in a vertical plane.[5] All this, as well as the use of red turtleshell and the style of the gilt mounts, suggests that Quare’s clock was designed with elite European tastes in mind. The fact that a high proportion of Quare’s trade was on the Continent adds credence to the likelihood that this clock was made for one of his aristocratic European clients. A luxurious travel alarm clock This little clock is ideal for travel. It has a centre-pierced alarm dial and a lunette cut-out for the strike/silent dial just above the XII. The strike/silent dial enabled the owner to turn the clock’s striking on or off – a useful feature for a weary traveller who needs a good night’s sleep. There is also a repeat pull chord on the side of the clock, adjacent to the X. When the owner pulled the chord, the clock would strike the most recent hour and quarter on demand, even during the pitch black of night. The clock also has a double-lock pendulum. This is a manual locking mechanism that holds the pendulum in place to protect it when the clock is being moved or transported – perfect for a bumpy coach ride to the next destination. Surely, this luxurious travel alarm clock was commissioned by or for a well-to-do world traveller. Quare certainly had access to customers who fit this profile. His association with aristocratic personages is confirmed by the register from the wedding of his daughter Elizabeth, who married Silvanus Bevan in November 1715. It is signed by Sarah, the Duchess of Marlborough, and 72 other personages of similar status. End Notes [1] Carter 2021, 152–157, Catalogue No. 30; Garnier and Hollis 2018, 360, Catalogue No. 110. [2] Coming soon to Clocktime; Taylor et al. 2020, 34, Exhibition No.4:6. [3] van Dyk 1680, 156–157. [4] Taylor 2018, 34. [5] Carter 2021, 157. References Carter, J. 2021. The John C Taylor Collection: Part I (Selling Exhibition Catalogue, Carter Marsh & Co). Winchester: Carter Marsh & Co. Garnier, R. and L. Hollis. 2018. Innovation & Collaboration: The early development of the pendulum clock in London. Fromanteel Ltd: Isle of Man. Taylor, J. C. and K. Leith (with contributions from T. Phillipson and K. Neate). 2020. The Luxury of Time: Clocks from 1500–1800. Isle of Man: Fromanteel Ltd. van Dyk, C. 1680. Osteologia, of Naukeurige geraamt beschryving van verscheyde dieren, nevens hare historien. c tot Medemblik. Taylor, J. C. 2018. Innovation & Collaboration: Exhibition guide. Isle of Man: Fromanteel Ltd.
