|The Sunflower Clock, 1752-1820| Vincennes and others The Royal
Collection Image Courtesy of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II A
porcelain vase which is painted with romantic scenes and adorned
with sculpted insects has been filled with a bouquet of china
flowers (held aloft on green wire stems). The central flower is
a disguised clock-face with the hands cleverly mounted in the
middle of a great sunflower. The clock’s case was created by the
porcelain-makers, Vincennes. British King George IV acquired
this peculiar timepiece in France in 1819 while he was still
Prince Regent. Upon bringing the clock to England, he had it
altered rather dramatically. Twin handles of gilt serpents were
added, a base with flanking branch candelabra was attached to
the urn and a variety of new porcelain flowers were incorporated
into the display. Not only that, but much of the original work
by Vincennes was covered-over with jewels. No one’s quite sure
why these changes were made, except for the fact that styles
change with time.