The ‘Risby clock’ – made for Hobart timber merchant, Joseph Edward Risby (1826–89) – brings together a Scottish-made movement and a Tasmanian-made case. Though little is known of its maker beyond his name, Archibald Gray, the dial of the clock suggests that it dates to around the early nineteenth century – some 50 years before the case was made. The case has a simple, austere design characteristic of Scottish-made clocks, of which the broken arch hood is particularly indicative. It is highly probable that the Tasmanian case was based on the original Scottish case for the extant mechanism. However, the construction of the case does not follow the pattern almost standard to similar clocks originating in the United Kingdom. Likewise its proportions, particularly those of the ‘scrolling’ feet are unusual. more...
While many objects from the colonial period are similar to contemporaneous objects made in Britain, they are distinguished by an idiosyncratic inflection derived from the particular local context of their production. Joseph Risby had access to the finest timbers from both the Huon Valley and the west coast of Tasmania, and the case of the Risby clock exploits the decorative qualities of two of these timbers, Huon pine and blackwood to great effect. The contrasting colours and patterns of the woods produces a striking effect in an otherwise very restrained design. Risby had an interest in demonstrating the suitability of Tasmanian timbers for furniture making and this may have been one of the reasons he had this clock case made. It would have clearly demonstrated these qualities to visiting cabinet-makers and their customers, as well as to a broader public.
Joseph Risby was the founder of Risby Brothers Timber Merchants, which was one of Tasmania’s longest running family-owned businesses, operating from 1844 until the early 1990s.
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