Cleveland Museum of Art

Cabinet Clock

James Cox

Date

c. 1770–75

Medium

gold, agate, enamel dial, glass

Culture

England, late 18th century

Department

Decorative Art and Design

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

In the 1700s and early 1800s, luxurious objects such as jewelry, miniatures, snuff boxes, and vanity cases emphasized their owner’s refinement and wealth. Especially popular were small cases with clocks and moving mechanical devices that played a handful of musical tunes. James Cox, the London goldsmith responsible for this clock and case, was known for creating such tuneful surprises, although this work no longer contains such a mechanism. Its glittering surface disguises a system based on the labor and suffering of enslaved people, whether in gold and stone mines or in shops where these goods were made by indentured apprentices. Many of these timepieces were designed for export and sold to the Chinese emperor Ch'ien Lung (1711–1799) and his court in attempt to balance out the substantial amount of tea that Britain was importing at the time. The doors of this miniature cabinet open to reveal two small drawers that held the winding keys for the clock above.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.