By Zoe Allen (Lead Conservator, Collections Care and Access, V&A) and Flora Clark (Research Assistant, The Rosalinde & Arthur Gilbert Collection, V&A)
After acquiring it in 1977, Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert proudly displayed this ornate cabinet clock in the hallway of their Beverly Hills home. The clock occupied a prime location – it was the first object visitors saw as they entered the house, offering an unambiguous statement about Rosalinde and Arthur as collectors and proponents of the decorative arts. Arthur said the cabinet clock was his favourite piece, regularly enthusing that it contained “every form of decorative art you could possibly imagine”.
Embarking on the basic task of describing the clock gives credit to Arthur’s bold statement. The clock consists of many luxurious materials and was fabricated using a variety of techniques. It is made of wood, veneered with turtle shell, and inlaid with mother-of-pearl, ivory, enamel and metal, affixed in places to a pink silk lining. Its base is set with precious hardstone mosaics (commessi di pietre dure). Atop it sits silver-gilt statuettes, with silver-gilt columns also flanking the clock face. The clock face itself is materially rich: the dial is mother of pearl, set with gems, and the arms are adorned with glass micromosaic flowers. On the back of the clock is a small panel painting.
This is only what immediately meets the eye. Flipping open the painted panel on the reverse offers a window to the clock’s complex inner mechanism and reveals an etched mercury tin amalgam mirror.
Hidden in the base of the clock is a velvet-lined drawer containing a porcelain tea set. Below this, another drawer houses an inkwell and pounce pot (pot holding a powder used to dry ink). The original owner of this clock could have used it to tell the time, serve their tea and write their letters, all at once.
The clock’s history
The stepped form of the clock is typical of those made in the city of Augsburg in Germany from around 1720. Known as ‘prunkuhr’ (literally, ‘magnificent clock’, in English), these timepieces are characterised by ornate cases in an elaborate, Baroque style. They are large and made as much for show as to tell the time.
Augsburg had been famous for clock production since the 1550s, with strict guild regulations ensuring the city’s production was of the highest standards. The Gilbert clock represents the tail-end of Augsburg’s’ pre-eminence as a clock making city. Its maker is unknown, but historians have identified this type of clock as conceived under the direction of the ‘Silberkistler’ (cabinetmakers specialising in silver-mounted furniture) Johannes Mann (1669 – 1754).
The earliest record of this clock is the 1883 inventory of Mentmore Towers, home to Archibald Primrose, Fifth Earl of Rosebery and his wife Hannah de Rothschild. Primrose served as British Prime Minister from 1894 – 95.
The clock was part of Hannah’s inheritance from the grand estate and collections of Mentmore Towers. The Gilbert clock was displayed in the gallery above the Great Hall, where it stood amongst an impressive array of paintings and furniture.
Spot the difference
We initially used stylistic analysis to try and work out what might not be original, comparing the Gilbert clock with others produced in Augsburg in the 1700s. The combination of chinoiserie (a popular 18th century, European decorative style inspired by East Asian art forms), classicism and military iconography in the Gilbert clock creates a confusing visual logic.
The marquetry in tortoiseshell and mother of pearl, showing figures sitting around a table and smoking a pipe, also appears on other clocks made in Augsburg from the time. The chinoiserie scenes extend onto the tea set, creating thematic coherence between these two different elements.
Whilst the Buddha sitting atop the clock could fit with the orientalising imagery on the marquetry and tea set, the reclining female figures stand out as particularly out of place, complicating the imagery and themes of the object. Similar figures don’t appear on other clocks made in Augsburg.
The conservation of the clock at the V&A
When the clock first came to the conservation studio, we were awestruck by the wide variety of materials used in its construction. Our team Furniture, Metals, Paintings and Frames (FMPF), includes specialists in many of the materials present, so this was the perfect team project.
Whilst the clock is a feast for the eyes, on close inspection numerous, often poorly executed, repairs could be seen, immediately confirming the clock had undergone significant alteration during its lifetime.
The redesign of the Gilbert Galleries gave us the opportunity to carry out a more in-depth investigation and treatment. The following describes the treatment carried out and the discoveries we made along the way.
Documentation
Before any treatment commenced, we photographed the clock from every angle to record its pre-treatment condition and appearance. We used these photographs to make black and white maps of the clock to label and record our intervention. Further detailed photography was carried out, during and after treatment.
Metal mounts
The metal mounts are both silver and silver gilt. The silver elements had tarnished, and some were almost completely black. Some elements were lost and the remains of old cleaning products were found on the backs of the mounts. This made it clear they had been removed and cleaned at least once before.
We carefully removed all mounts to enable cleaning and noted their location by pinning them to the map images. After cleaning, the details of the mounts, previously obscured by the black tarnish, came to life.
Turtle shell
The clock contains two shades of turtle shell veneer – some is red in tone enhanced by the wood painted red below. Other areas are brown, and it is possible that the brown areas are a later addition.
The shell was lifting and missing in some areas and there were unsightly poor repairs with clumsy fills, residues of old adhesive, and surfaces were scratched from previous polishing attempts.
We secured any lifting turtle shell elements and old adhesive residues were removed, and the shell was then cleaned and carefully polished. The location of any missing turtle shell was recorded and replaced with the museum’s stock of turtle shell.
Silk
Textile conservators treated the original thin and threadbare pink silk behind the metal fretwork. This was in poor condition and actively deteriorating. It was faded in colour, splitting, and there were scattered pale coloured deposits on the surface from old cleaning products used for the metal.
The deposits could only be reduced as the silk was too weak to withstand repeated cleaning. The silk panels all required full supports. As the access was very limited, the only treatment option was to apply an adhesive coated textile to the reverse side of the silk, working from the inside of the clock. We chose silk crepeline as the support, dyed pink to match the original.
A conservation grade adhesive was applied to one side of the silk to create a lightweight flexible film. Once this was dry the film was cut to the same size as the original silk to be supported. The adhesive coated silk was placed in situ over the original silk and secured at the top with a couple of dots of wet solvent to keep it in the upright position. The rest of the adhesive film was then solvent reactivated to adhere it to the original silk.
Gilded Wood
The clock’s intricate features are tamed and framed by a series of wooden mouldings. Close inspection showed these had been poorly regilded in the past. Thickly applied gesso (a primer used before painting to aid adherence) clogged the original shape and crisp profile of the mouldings. Gold leaf repairs had been clumsily applied, overlapping onto surrounding areas. Close inspection found gold leaf repairs had also covered original features, such as the back edges of the stained green bone capitals, entire areas meant to be turtle shell and the tops of capitals, originally ebonised.
The leaf was removed from these areas and as cleaning progressed further, original details came to light. Carved detail, such as egg and dart on some of the wooden mouldings, had been completely covered up by thickly applied gesso and overgilding.
The most exciting discovery was the fact that none of the mouldings were originally gilded but instead coated with a silver foil embossed with intricate patterns. Under the later gilding, we found silver foil in the recesses of all mouldings and the remains of embossed patterns were found imprinted in the original glue layer. This silver had most likely tarnished and thus been peeled off and gilded.
All repair gold leaf was removed. The surrounding tortoiseshell was protected with masking tape before the mouldings were painted with a base colour and re-gilded with silver leaf to match the remaining original areas. This has really changed the overall look of the clock.
Clock Movement
A specialist horologist was contracted to remove the movement from the case and dismantle it to allow for cleaning of old oils and carry out any repairs. During repair the clock was unwound, and a recording of the chiming was made. As part of this process, all three mainsprings were removed, cleaned and a record made of scratched dates and possible spring-maker’s signatures found towards the outer end of two of the coiled components. Interpreting the inscription was difficult, however, possibly reading ‘18 Avril’ (18 April) 1822. Such information is of considerable value in attempting to trace the story of the clock and possible modifications made during its life. The clock was not brought to running order, as the V&A do not usually keep their clocks running, in order to preserve the movements.
Dismantling, cleaning and repairing the clock movement
Stones/gems
The stones were looked at closely by our gemmologist and the red stones were identified as garnets and the blue stones, turquoise. The colourless stones were harder to identify and are either colourless sapphire or colourless rock crystal. These and the garnets appear to have silver foil underneath them to enhance their lustre.
Ceramic tea set
The set was in generally good condition with only minor surface dirt and abrasions consistent with age and use. The vessel of the lidded sugar bowl has been broken and bonded in the past with a brown adhesive and there is also a 2cm loss in the rim.
Other materials
The stone mosaics and panel painting were all in good condition and underwent light surface cleaning.
Conclusions
Whilst the clock has been heavily restored over the years, this extensive research and treatment project by a range of specialist conservators has revealed that the quality of the original craftsmanship was very high. The more recent repairs were been made clumsily, and it is not clear when or where these were made. The 1822 date on the mainspring of the clock mechanism is intriguing, as it points to a moment in time when alterations were made. It also suggests that this could have been a time when other features of the clock were changed. This conclusion is tentative, however, as there is also the possibility that the clock mechanism itself could have been adapted from another context and then added in later. The gilding on the wooden mouldings was not original, and these areas were much more finely executed and coated with embossed patterned silver foil. The very different styles of the applied metal ornament imply that it has been removed and replaced to suit the tastes of different owners.
Regardless of when additions were made, the clock remains a rare treasure and specialist conservators, curators and researchers came together to recover the clock’s original form. Whilst this project did not reveal all the identities of past makers, restorers and owners, it allowed the team at the V&A to understand a great deal more about its original production and make a historically important and exciting change to the appearance of the clock. When the Gilberts bought the piece in 1977, it reflected the tastes of its recent owners. In 2026, as a result of a highly specialised team effort, the clock has been restored to something much closer to its original state.
Acknowledgments
Yukiko Barrow (Senior Furniture and Related Objects Conservator), Philip Kevin (Senior Furniture and Related Objects Conservator), Amreet Kular (Furniture and Related Objects Conservator), Heidrun Gassner (Furniture and Related Objects Conservator), Katrina Redman (Senior Metals Conservator and gemmologist), Yukiko Barrow (Senior Furniture and Related Objects Conservator), Robert Mitchell (Metals Conservator), Nina Jimenez Grey (Senior Paintings Conservator), Elizabeth-Anne Haldane (Lead Conservator, Textiles), V&A Technical Services Team, Chloe Wong (UCL intern), Alice Minter (Senior Curator, Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection), Jessica Insley (Curator, Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection), Isabella Warnham, (Assistant Curator, Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection), Sophie Croft, (Senior Conservation Project Manager).
With thanks to Marcus Raedecke for generously sharing research information about the clock and to Francis Brodie, Independent Horology Conservator, who conserved the clock mechanism.
