RICHARD STEDMAN tall case clock; England, late 18th century.

RICHARD STEDMAN tall case clock; England, late eighteenth century.
Lacquered and gilded wood.
Preserves weights and pendulum.
It has slight flaws in the polychrome.
Measurements: 230 cm (height).
This clock signed by Richard Stedman perfectly embodies the technical and aesthetic refinement of British Georgian watchmaking. The case, made of lacquered and richly gilded wood, is in the English tradition of the late 19th century, with a slender and proportioned vertical architecture up to the top crown. The decoration, executed with great virtuosity, presents landscapes and architectures of oriental and classicist inspiration, an ornamental language much appreciated at the time, influenced by the taste for chinoiserie and the enlightened interest in the exotic. The dial, clear and balanced, reflects the functional rigor of English watchmaking, recognized throughout Europe for its reliability.
Richard Stedman belongs to that generation of English watchmakers who, in the transition between the 18th and 19th centuries, consolidated the international reputation of British watchmaking. Active at a time of great demand for high-case watches, Stedman is distinguished by the quality of its mechanisms and by collaborating with specialized cabinetmakers capable of creating cases to match the precision of their movements.