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Jewels of Time: Watches from the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute
September 27, 2002–January 12, 2003

Pair-case Watch and Chatelaine, 1725-50. Jacques (a.k.a. James) Debauffre (active 1712-50), England; gold, diamonds, silver, rubies, agate, enamel. (PC.318) Photo © 2001 by John Biglow Taylor, N.Y.C.

The aesthetic brilliance and exquisite craftsmanship of ornamented timepieces will be featured in Jewels of Time: Watches from the Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute. This is the first exhibition of the renowned timepiece collection formed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries by brothers Thomas and Frederick Proctor, two of the Institute's founders of Utica, New York. The exhibition of eighty decorative watches, ranging in date from the late-sixteenth and early-seventeenth through the early-twentieth centuries, will be showcased at the Tyler Museum of Art, opening on September 20th. A fully illustrated catalogue accompanies the exhibition.

Worn as a jeweled symbol of prestige, each watch is a work of art. The exhibition examines the collection from this perspective and explores the decorative techniques used in the creation of these small artworks. Jewels of Time also provides an overview of three hundred years of timekeeping, as watches evolved from jewelry and novelty items to precision mechanisms.

The watch collection that Thomas R. Proctor (1844-1920) and his brother, Frederick T. Proctor (1856-1929), assembled is one of the largest and most important ever gathered in the United States. Comprising 300 European and American watches and clocks, the collection has the added distinction that it is intact.

This is the first exhibition to explore watches within the history of decorative arts and jewelry. Guest Curator Janet Zapata and MWP Arts Institute Curator of Decorative Arts Anna D'Ambrosio selected the most visually appealing watches in the collection for the exhibition. They provide a chronological overview of the finest jewelry making techniques.

The exhibition is divided into categories that demonstrate the opulence of each piece. The intricate scenes depicted on the repoussé cases of many of the silver and gold watches, for example, illustrate the height of metalsmithing techniques. Some of the exquisite collection features highly detailed miniature portraits or still lifes framed in pearls. Semi-precious stones were also a favored ornamental element; examples include jewel-encrusted watchcases and chatelaines. The collection also encompasses Renaissance-style watches of rock crystal, clever automatons, and novelty forms that vary from a skull to a blossoming flower.

This exhibition was organized by the Munson-Williams-Proctor Art Institute in Utica, New York. The exhibition was funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency, and the MWP Arts Institute's Sayre-Bryant Fund. Exclusive sponsorship for this exhibition is provided by the Rogers Foundation of Tyler.

Members preview and reception will be held from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. on September 26. Admission will be charged for this exhibition.

The Tyler Museum of Art is located on the east side of the Tyler Junior College campus at 1300 South Mahon. Regular museum hours are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Sunday. The Museum is closed Mondays and major holidays.

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TMA will welcome the Guest Curator Janet Zapata in January for a lecture in conjunction with this exhibition. Ms. Zapata, the author of the exhibition catalogue, is an independent scholar and museum consultant specializing in jewelry and silver. She is the author of The Jewelry and Enamels of Louis Comfort Tiffany (1993), The Art of Zadora: America's Faberge (1999) and The Jewelry Menagerie (2001). She contributes frequently to The Magazine Antiques and Art & Antiques. Ms. Zapata is a consultant for the Louis Tiffany Garden Museum in Matsue, Japan, and the Toledo Museum of Art. She was featured on "Tiffany: The Mark of Excellence" in the A&E Biography series. Seating is limited and reservations are required.

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