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Notes
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Although now without its rising sun and waterworks as described in James Cox’s museum catalogue, the 'Silver Swan' is still the best-known and best-loved object in The Bowes Museum collection. Bought by Founders, Joséphine and John Bowes in 1882, they relished its ruffled, patterned feathers and lifelike grace. As the daughter of a horologist, Joséphine would have also appreciated the automaton’s deceptively simple clockwork innards, the work of, among others, inventor John Joseph Merlin. In the 'Silver Swan', Joséphine and John Bowes acquired an object so magically realistic that it contributed to the debate on the meaning and definition of life. If such convincing representations can be mechanically constructed, what does it truly mean to ‘be alive’? The Swan is now over 250 years old and has performed for audiences at the museum since the Second World War.
The Swan has undergone major restoration on several occasions, most recently from October 2023 to March 2024 by The Cumbria Clock Company. Although other clocks and automata by James Cox survive, there is no other known Swan automaton in the world.
The Bowes Museum
Barnard Castle
Title
The Silver Swan
Date
1772–1774
Medium
silver, glass & metal
Accession number
X.4653
Work type
Sculpture
