Beschreibung:

A GEORGE II LEAD FIGURAL GARDEN SUN DIAL ATTRIBUTED TO JOHN CHEERE AFTER JOHN NOST MID 18TH CENTURY The solid gnomon and dial above the crouching figure of Father Time or Kronos, the dial signed "B MARTIN, LONDON" and indistinctly engraved with the Boevey escutcheon of arms 152cm high overall, the base 92cm wide 74cm deep Provenance: Possibly acquired by Thomas Crawley-Boevey, 1st Bt. of Flaxley (1709-69), at the time of his marriage to Susanna (née Lloyd) in May 1743, and by descent at Flaxley Abbey, Gloucestershire, until sold and removed from the premises- Flaxley Abbey, Gloucestershire: Catalogue of the Valuable Contents, Bruton, Knowles & Co., 29 March - 5 April 1960, lot 1009. Returned to Flaxley Abbey by Frederick Baden Watkins Literature: Arthur W. Crawley-Boevey, A Brief Account of the Antiquities, Family Pictures and Other Notable Articles at Flaxley Abbey, co. Gloucester, Bristol, 1912, p. 36, no. 3. Mrs. A. Gatty, The Book of Sun-dials, London, 1900, 4th edition, p. 472. R. Bowling, 'Sundial Supporters Revisited', BSS Bulletin [The British Sundial Society], vol. 19, September 2007, p. 126. This 18th century lead sundial was described as 'The Flaxley Sundial' when it was sold from the Flaxley Abbey estate in 1960. The lead figure of Father Time is depicted as a bearded old man kneeling under the weight of a bronze dial that bears the Boevey coat of arms. He is shown with wings to represent how 'time flies'. 'B. Martin', possibly the maker, is incised on the dial. He is shown with wings to represent how 'time flies'. 'B. Martin', possibly the maker, is incised on the dial. It's possible that the maker of the sundial was Benjamin Martin who worked between 1738 and 1777 from one address in Chichester and five in Fleet Street and latterly as Benjamin Martin & Son until 1782 when the firm went bankrupt. At the time of cataloguing only two similar sundials of this particular kneeling form of Time were noted. One, with receipt dated for 1743 by John Cheere, was noted at Blair Castle, Perthshire (RCAHMS SC 763911). As the lead was piece-moulded, Cheere could assemble parts in new configurations; this was supposedly the case with the Blair Castle example, which is adapted from John Nost I's (fl. 1677-1710) Indian sun dial at Melbourne Hall, Derbyshire (I. Roscoe, A biographical dictionary of sculptors in Britain, 1660-1851, New Haven and London, 2009, p. 262). Another version of Father Time was formerly at St. Osyth Priory, Essex- however it has been noted that this one was of a slightly different form- with just one hand holding the plate above. It was listed in the house sale of 1920 as: 'A fine XVII cent. cast lead figure of Time supporting a sundial, 3' 6" high on a square stone base' (In fact, it was 18th century and life-size). The sundial failed to sell, and remained at St. Osyth Priory until 1986; its present whereabouts are unknown, and no image is extant (R. Bowling, 'Sundial Supporters Revisited', BSS Bulletin [The British Sundial Society], vol. 19, September 2007, p. 126). Subsequent research has shown an almost identical sundial to this lot- offered by Seago Antique Garden Furniture, 22 Pimlico Road London, and illustrated at the back of John Davis "Antique Garden Ornament" (Antique Collector's Club 1991). The Seago lead statue of Father Time is recorded with provenance for Fonthill House, Wiltshire, home of Alderman William Beckford Unfortunately its current whereabouts is unknown and the maker of the sundial plate unrecorded. A related sundial known as the 'Blackamoor' is recorded in the gardens of the Inner Temple, London (W. Lethaby, Leadwork, old and ornamental, and for the most part English, London, 1893, pp. 101-111). This sundial is signed on the dial 'Ben Scott in the Strand Londini Fecit' and '1731'. It is almost certainly after an earlier model by John Nost I, who at the turn of the century, was awarded a contract for an extensive programme of sculptural works at Hampton Court Palace, Middlesex, incl