Jonathan Betts
In 2013, I attended a summer school where the course leader, Andrew Moore, asked me about the wall clock in the Paston Treasure, an enigmatic 17th-century painting of a mysterious and varied art collection amassed by a Norfolk family.
He was planning an exhibition and was searching for objects to represent those shown in the painting.
The clock was a rare kind but I was aware of one in Glasgow’s Burrell Collection, which staff allowed me to dismantle and study. As soon as I saw it I was sure that, despite some later technical alterations, the clock was a genuine piece by the noted London maker Henry Jones. It was made within 25 years of the invention of the pendulum as a timekeeping device in the 17th century, a huge technological leap that kickstarted England’s golden age.
My research involved closely studying, measuring and recording every part as the clock came to pieces. I found much evidence of alterations, but all of them overt and not suspicious.
One interesting change I discovered was that this wall-mounted clock had been converted to front winding. During that conversion, it seems the opportunity was taken to upgrade the appearance of the timepiece and the centre of the dial was given a metallic appearance, the norm from the early 1700s.
However, under the chapter ring (the circle with the hour numbers engraved on it), the original surface of the clock dial had survived, and it was startling to see it had been covered in a vermillion-embossed paper, in imitation of silk.
This was not only a daring and in-your-face kind of aesthetic, but also one that was achieved on a budget. The research goes on.
Jonathan Betts is the curator emeritus horology at the Royal Observatory, run by Royal Museums Greenwich. The wall clock is featured in Paston Treasure: Riches and Rarities of the Known World at Norwich Castle Museum and Art Gallery until 23 September
