The Norfolk Clock....

One of the more unusual pieces of treasure Peter and I managed to smuggle back in one piece from the UK on our trip was a PH Mourey mantle clock. It was one of those marvelously recherche finds - we had just pulled into the small village of Holt in North Norfolk on our way to Houghton Hall, for a bite of brunch and to stretch our legs. To our surprise this randomly chosen sleepy village could have been something out of Midsommer, with its perfectly manicured streets full of bakeries, boutiques, bistros and no less than eight antique dealers!

And thus it was that we came across the clock in one of the dealer's. It was the sort of piece which when One comes across One looks longingly at and then moves on in an 'íf only' moment, then - after a few hours shopping and a liquid lunch - One returns and manages to articulate compelling reasons why One simply ought to take it home! Peter has a lovely phrase that he uses when I am looking at things -"Darling, it is only expensive on the day that you buy it" (I believe a nun used to tell him that about her shoes!)

Philippe Henri Mourey (1840-1910) was a 19th century clock designer and case maker. He was an exceptional artist when it came to the art of ormolu (gilded bronze) clock design, and worked very closely with several of Paris' leading clock makers of the time. His most famous relationship was with Japy Freres & Co. He specialised in the Louis XV-XVI style of clock, decorated with rococo and classical motifs on porcelain panels in the Sevres style, and also in using marble and alabaster. We have two other PH Mourey clocks in our collection of about 30 clocks (Peter and I both collected clocks before we met. I collected gilded mantle clocks of an ornate fashion, and Peter collected grandfather clocks, station clocks and carriage clocks, all of which I am sure will be the subjects of posts to come)...

Above: A black marble and ormolu Mourey found in Christchurch about a year before the earthquake. 

Below: A white alabaster and ormolu Mourey found in Lostwithiel, Cornwall.

The garnitures, if any existed, were not with the Norfolk clock. The pale blue porcelain panels do not suit the darker Sevres garnitures we found a couple of years ago, which is a pity, but the clock would be flanked well by one of our pairs of ormolu candelabra. However, given that the clock is destined for the China Room, I am on the look out for a lovely pair of pale blue Sevres plates, similar to those below, to flank the clock...

It might be nice to find some other Sevres pieces for The China Room (Sevres has grown on me since the previous posts). Here are a few other pale blue pieces which are quite nice...

The China Room started out as a Card Room, with the walls decorated to resemble a giant Wedgwood plate (as most of our collectible china at the time was Wedgwood), however, the collection has diversified, and although the room is still designed to look like a Wedgwood box, the card table has been moved to the Gold Drawing Room, and replaced with a round Chippendale table - suitable for a high tea with fine china!

The Wedgwood Card Room...

The card room adjacent to the formal dining room is going to be used to display our Wedgewood collection. It will be painted the same traditional colours of the Wedgewood plates, and like the plates we will make much of the plaster decoration on the blue backdrop...

Above: A Wedgwood ceiling panel in Dublin.

Above and below: Examples of plaster work with a Wedgwoodesque style. I love the fireplace above and it is going to be replicated in the room.

Above and Below: Other room ideas in similar shades of blue. We will use sconces and plastered niches to display our Wedgwood pieces.

Below: an antique card table of the type which will be centered in the room. Over it will be a chandelier hanging from an ornately plastered dome, such as the ceiling panel above.

Josiah Wedgwood (below), the founder of the famous pottery, started his career as an apprentice to Thomas Whieldon. In 1759 he leased Ivy House in Burslem from relative, which allowed him to start his own pottery business.

In 1765, Wedgwood created a new earthenware form which impressed Queen Charlotte (the wife of George III) enough to give him a royal warrant and permission to call it "Queen's Ware". In 1766 Wedgwood bought Etruria, a large estate in Staffordshire. It served both as a home and as a pottery site.

Wedgwood developed a number of industrial innovations for his company, notably a pyrometer (away of measuring kiln temperatures accurately), and new ware types Black Basalt and Jasper Ware - the familiar style of white decoration on darker matte pottery styled above. The first background colour was the the popular Poland Blue, which I still think is the most attractive. In total Wedgwood experimented with more than 3,000 colour samples.

The main decorative themes found in Wedgewood's jasper ware were taken from ancient mythology (Roman, Greek and Egyptian). This complimented well the architectural styles of neoclassiciasm and the Georgian decorative styles (as such it will compliment Willowbrook Park well too!).

Above: A fine example of a Jasperware urn.
Below: Jasperware panels beautifully incorporated into ormulu regency furniture.

Wedgwood had increasing success with hard paste porcelain attempting to imitate the whiteness of Chineese porcelain. The high transportation costs and the vigorous long journey from the Far East meant that the supply of china could not keep up with the increasingly high demand. In 1812 Wedgwood produced their own bone china. Though not a commercial success at first, Wedgwood's English Fine Bone China eventually became an important part of an extremely profitable business.

The company merged with Waterford in 1987. The joint company was placed under administration last year due to the financial crisis. Now many of the lines have been deleted and much of the pottery is to be made in asia.

Other rooms where Wedgewood has obviously been an inspiration...