Drawing

A wonderful story involves this drawing by an unknown designer from the workshop of the goldsmith and clock-maker, James Cox (active in London from 1749 to 1791). It shows a bull clock on a table-shaped stand. The bull resembles the one on the Buffalo clock made about 1770 in Cox's workshop although the rock-shaped base is different. The clock is the collection of the Palace Museum, Beijing. This drawing has been tentatively attributed to Charles Magniac, a craftsman trained as a chaser.

The purpose of the drawing is likely to be a presentation drawing for the client. It combines characteristics of designs for objects intended for production, with features also found in craftsmen's and retailers' record drawings.