The 18th Century dancing 'automaton clock' at York Art Gallery

The 18th Century Automaton Clock at York Art Gallery

Traditionally attributed to James Cox (c.1723–1800), the maker of the Silver Swan at Bowes Museum, this clock was donated to York Museums Trust in 1978. Cox was known for making intricate clockwork curios many of which were exhibited at Cox’s Museum in London. Cox was a showman, manufacturer and dealer and many people visited his ‘museum’ including Samuel Johnson.

In 2018 we undertook to conserve and redisplay the clock by Cox as a highlight within the permanent collections at York Art Gallery. It has undergone several changes and adaptations and through redisplaying the clock we have started a further programme of research into the history and provenance of one of our most treasured pieces of the collection.

The clock as it survives today is a mixture of different influences reflecting its biography of adaptation and changing tastes across time and place. The curved shape of the case of the clock, along with the Rococo style ormolu mounts, was a fashionable design popular in Continental Europe around 1740-70. However, the painted decoration on the clock is decidedly English in style. The rural scenes depicted on the main body of the clock together with the type of costume the figures are wearing appear to be English also. The mechanism of the clock is English and dates to the 1780s.

The two painted enamel plaques on either side of the clock dial are thought to depict English scenes of Battersea and Tockwith, but are likely to be a later 19th century addition. Since its creation, the original pipe organ of the clock has been removed and replaced with a 19th-century Swiss musical box. The elephants and a pagoda-style canopy have also been added later.

The clock is now displayed outside a glass case for the first time, allowing visitors the opportunity to walk around it and see all the moving decoration clearly during its regular ‘performances’. The clock chimes every quarter of an hour and the figure of Hercules at the top strikes the hours.

The project to conserve the clock raised emotional, philosophical and conservation questions which conservator Daniela Corda has written a blog about. The delight of the clock lies in seeing its moving parts and hearing its musical sequence of seven melodies played on a nest of eleven bells.

To see the clock 'dancing', click here

However, running the clock comes at the cost of cumulative damage.

Conservators and staff settled on the present arrangement which is to run the clock’s main movement, authorising the ticking sound, the hour and the quarter striking, but only to operate the automata elements at scheduled times. The automata mechanism would once have activated automatically but we now offer opportunities at York Art Gallery to see it activated with a key.

When the automaton is activated the four dancing figures at the base of the temple at the top of the clock spin round and tinkly music plays. Included in the show are sparkling waterfalls on both faces (an illusion created by revolving glass rods), rotating stars and jewelled flowers, a procession of 26 painted figures move across the front of the clock, while at the back, more figures cross the bridge between two water wheels.

At present we are unsure whether the clock was made for the domestic or export market, but the latter seems more likely. In the second half of the 18th century, trade between Europe and Asia was growing fast due to the increased European demand for products such as porcelain, silk and tea.

Clocks became popular trade products. Their exquisite ornamented cases provided a status symbol which was more important than their functionality as a timekeeper. Although the clocks varied greatly in their size and design, most of them included mechanical music in their functions and remained popular until the end of the 18th century.

Having conserved the clock in 2018 and enabled its mechanisms to work, we are thrilled to now have such an important item on open public display in York Art Gallery. We have made a video so it can be enjoyed at home too!