John Bushman

An ornamental London pair-cased verge pocket watch with enamel medallion, mock pendulum and additional concealed enamel medallion

Sold

estimated

2.500—4.000 €

Price realized

6.000 €

specific features

Case

Outer case - silver, florally engraved, polychrome enamel medallion, large lateral hinge. Inner case - silver, polished, case maker's punch mark "MF".

Dial

Silver, Champlevé, eccentric hour chapter ring with inlaid radial Roman numerals, chased and engraved centre, aperture for mock pendulum at "6", aperture for regulator at "8".

Movement

Full plate movement with a polychrome enamel medallion, keywind, chain/fusee, ring blance with "mock pendulum".

Diam.56 mm

Circa1710

Ctry.English

Wt.132 g

Both enamel medallions show ladies in period dresses that are very low cut. Although the two ladies are of different ages, the paintings seem to portray one and the same person.
John Bushman (also Buschman or Buschmann) was born 1661 in Augsburg, Germany. In 1690 he got married as Johannes Busshman to 23 year old Mary Wyatt at Christ Church, London. In 1692 he became a Brother of the Clockmakers Company and was made an Assistant in 1720. Bushman presumably worked until 1725. The book "Merkwürdige Reisen durch Niedersachsen Holland und Engelland" (Curious travels through Lower Saxony, Holland and England, first published in 1753) by Zaccharias Konrad Uffenbach mentions him as a watchmaker just as good as Daniel Quare or Thomas Tompion: "He is well and truly a humble, polite and goodly man who still speaks good German and never cheats his customers!" He is known to have created several clocks with serpent automatons.