264 - Charles Clay / Ishmael Parbury - Jupiter and Danaë

Charles Clay / Ishmael Parbury - Jupiter and Danaë A magnificent London pair-cased quarter-repeating verge pocket watch with "repoussé" decoration Dimensions: 51 mm, circa 1730, Weight: 146 g, Origin: England Case: Outer case—18K gold, repoussé decoration depicting Jupiter and Danaë and signed “Parbury Fecit,” openwork edge. Inner case—18K gold, openwork edges, rear bell, movement protection cap. Dial: Gold, champlevé. Movement: Full-plate movement, chain/fusee, 2 hammers, three-arm brass balance. The reverse side of the outer case, chased in high relief, depicts the mythological scene of Jupiter and Danaë within a cartouche. Outside the cartouche are pierced, chased, and engraved sections between panels containing full-length putti with their arrows of love. The bezel is pierced, chased, and engraved, and features vignettes with zodiac symbols representing the four seasons: the scales (Libra), the crab (Cancer), the goat (Capricorn), and the ram (Aries). Zigzag edge pattern. The inner case is openwork and engraved. It is decorated with volutes, acanthus scrolls, and mythical creatures. At the 6 and 12 o’clock positions, there are two cartouches featuring an engraved mascaron and geometric decoration. This watch is described in *The Art of the Gold Chaser* by Richard Edgecumbe, Oxford 2000, page 140. Watchmaker Charles Clay was a native of Emley near Huddersfield in Yorkshire. Clay applied for a patent for a repeating, musical watch in February 1716; however, Daniel Quare contested this patent, and while the Attorney General ruled in favor of Charles Clay, the Clockmakers’ Guild strongly supported Quare’s claim—Quare was a renowned maker and former Master of the Guild. Clay’s patent application was finally dismissed after a year. In 1720, Clay established his workshop near St. Mary-Le Strand in London, and in 1723 he was appointed clockmaker to His Majesty’s Board of Works. He held the position at least until 1737; Clay presumably died sometime in 1739—his will is dated January 18, 1739. Ishmael Parbury (c. 1697–1746) was a leading gold chaser working in London during the first half of the 18th century. According to George Vertue’s records (Notebooks, III, pp. 62 and 134): “Mr. Ishmael Parbury. Gold chaser of watches, etc., of Salisbury Court, who died in September 1746 ... He was a master of his craft, distinguished by the neatness and precision of his work, which earned him greater esteem than any other Englishman and, as a result, he commanded the highest prices for his pieces... His collection sold for 258 pounds ... [he] was a man nearing fifty years of age.” He was evidently a close friend of the other leading chaser of the time, the Swiss George Michael Moser, who served as his executor. The sale of his collection was held by Cock on December 17–18, 1746. Source: www.britishmuseum.org Case: very good. Dial: very good, slightly chipped. Movement: needs restoration.