id: 168181 accession number: 2009.77 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/2009.77 updated: 2021-03-05 10:04:56.864000 Cabinet Clock, c. 1770-75. Attributed to James Cox (British). Gold, agate, enamel dial, glass; overall: 16.5 x 8.9 cm (6 1/2 x 3 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Howard F. Stirn 2009.77 title: Cabinet Clock title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: c. 1770-75 creation date earliest: 1770 creation date latest: 1775 current location: 203B British Painting and Decorative Arts creditline: Gift of Howard F. Stirn copyright: --- culture: England, late 18th century technique: gold, agate, enamel dial, glass department: Decorative Art and Design collection: Decorative Arts type: Miscellaneous find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS * James Cox (British) - artist Though James Cox was celebrated during his lifetime, the date and place of birth are unknown. According to the Clockmaker's Records, J. Cox was established at the Racquet Court in London in 1749 and a trade-card now in the British Museum, engraved as his address Racquet Court, Fleet Street, at the sign of the Golden Urn. From 1756-1759 he was in partnership with the clockmaker Edward Grace when, according to a later trade-card in the British Museum, Cox was at the Golden Urn, Shoe Lane. Nothing further is known of his activities between 1751-1766. Objects signed by James Cox belong to the British Royal Collection, the British Museum, the Louvre, the Metropolitan Museum, the Walters Art Gallery, and the private collectors. --- measurements: Overall: 16.5 x 8.9 cm (6 1/2 x 3 1/2 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: inscription: signed "Jas Cox" translation: remark: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: British Gallery Reinstallation (June 2020) opening date: 2020-06-30T04:00:00 British Gallery Reinstallation (June 2020). The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE Private collection, New York date: footnotes: citations: Howard F. Stirn [1923-2016], Cleveland, OH, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art date: -2009 footnotes: citations: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH date: 2009- footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: The doors of this miniature cabinet open to reveal two small drawers that held the winding keys for the clock above. digital description: 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. wall description: --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2009.77/2009.77_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2009.77/2009.77_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/2009.77/2009.77_full.tif