RARE AND HISTORIC WELSH CLOCK TO BE SOLD BY BONHAMS IN CHESTER
STATUS SYMBOL IN CUBAN MAHOGANY THAT HAS MARKED TIME IN THE VALLEYS FOR ALMOST 250 YEARS
One of the rarest Welsh clocks ever to reach the market will go under the hammer at Bonhams’ Chester saleroom on Nov 5. It is estimated to sell for £7,000 to £10,000.
John Owen, founder of the prolific Llanrwst dynasty of clockmakers, made this exceptional longcase timepiece for his landlord Peter Titley around 1772.
Titley, doctor, apothecary and surgeon, is thought to have commissioned it, alongside a canteen of silver cutlery hallmarked with that date, as a status symbol adequately reflecting his social aspirations and burgeoning estate around the Conwy Valley town.
The clock case was ordered in the finest solid Cuban mahogany – then still little known outside the fashionable drawing rooms of the metropolis - and the wood specially carted from Liverpool or Chester. And the dial plate- weighing a huge 9.5lbs - completely silvered and finely engraved by ‘the Good Engraver’ with the coat of arms of the thirteenth Noble Tribe of Wales.
“Titley probably wished to suggest a link back to the 11th Century tribe of Ednywain Bendew, ‘the strong skulled’ Lord of Tegaingle" said Bonhams clock specialist, Mark Huddleston.
“I think Titley was undoubtedly making a statement- setting himself apart with a clock superior to all the other Owen oak-cased and brass faced clocks in the valley.”
Certainly the Titley clock – now estimated between £7,000- £10,000 and being sold by a Lancashire descendent - seems to be the only one known to boast that heraldic bearing.
Said Mr. Huddleston: “This clock is very special its own right for so many reasons- a piece of museum quality which we believe will attract the interest of collectors and academics from a wide area.
“But a reliable provenance from the time it was sold to the present day is the icing on the cake. We know the clockmaker, his customer, and exactly where the clock has been since the day it left Owen’s workshop.”
Other features that make the clock so remarkable is that its movement included a centre seconds hand and a maintaining mechanism which allowed it to be wound without stopping and losing time.
Although, on this occasion Owen’s casemaker worked in Cuban mahogany instead of oak, he used a pattern which is unmistakably identical to other clocks produced by the Llanrwst master.
Bonhams Regional Director Antony Bennett said: “John Owen probably made hundreds of clocks during his lifetime but only one quite like this. It was his crowning glory.
“It is without doubt an important part of the history of horology in the Principality and we will be delighted if its connection with Wales can be maintained.”
John Owen died in 1776, in his late fifties, and it is likely that in addition to being his most interesting and unusual work, the Titley clock may also have been among the last to leave his Denbigh Street workshop.
For further information please ring Mark Huddleston at Bonhams Chester on 01244 313936.
BONHAMS
Bonhams, founded in 1793, is one of the world's oldest and largest auctioneers of fine art and antiques. The present company was formed by the merger in November 2001 of Bonhams & Brooks and Phillips Son and Neale UK. In August 2002, the company acquired Butterfields, the principal firm of auctioneers on the West Coast of America. Today, Bonhams offers more sales than any of its rivals, through two major salerooms in London: New Bond Street, and Knightsbridge, and a further seven throughout the UK. Sales are also held in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Boston in the USA; and Switzerland, France, Monaco, Australia, Hong Kong and Dubai. Bonhams has a worldwide network of offices and regional representatives in 25 countries offering sales advice and valuation services in 57 specialist areas. For a full listing of upcoming sales, plus details of Bonhams specialist departments, go to www.bonhams.com.
