Watch

The lower half of this Swiss-made pocket watch dial is painted with a scene anticipating the French fleet invading Britain. At the centre of the dial is a small aperture which has a mock automaton of one of the fleet's ships against a white background. The watch has been crudely altered since it was first made. The watch mechanism is not the original one, and the automaton ship is cut from a late 19th-century watch dial.

Object Details

ID: JEW0265
Collection: Decorative art
Type: Watch
Display location: Not on display
Creator: Unknown
Places: France; France Great Britain
Date made: circa 1803
Credit: National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London. Caird Fund.
Measurements: Overall: 80 x 61 x 23 mm