John Joseph Merlin : the ingenious mechanick, London : Iveagh Bequest, Kenwood : Greater London Council, 1985.The clock’s movement does not need winding, as it is powered by a large barometer-like mechanism in the case.ĭesigned by John Cox and the engineer John Joseph Merlin, the clock’s display of a scientific system is typical of the late 18th century fascination with the spectacle of science. Exhibited from 1768-1774 in John Cox’s popular Mechanical Museum at Charing Cross, it was widely advertised as the only working example of ‘perpetual motion’. This clock was made as a scientific curiosity.The mechanism does not need winding because it works likes a barometer, moving mercury between two large glass jars and translating the movement to the dial via a series of wheels. A star exhibit in his ‘Mechanical Museum’, it was celebrated as the first clock powered by ‘perpetual motion’. This clock was the work of James Cox, a jeweller who exported automata to India and China. In the 18th century, with the widespread interest in science, furniture sometimes incorporated elaborate mechanisms. Purchased with the assistance of the Art Fund James Cox (about 1723–1800) and John Joseph Merlin (1735–1803)Ĭase: solid and veneered mahogany with glass

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