A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley

Made:
1984 in United Kingdom
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Kinetic sculpture, A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Kinetic sculpture, A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Kinetic sculpture, A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Kinetic sculpture, A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Kinetic sculpture, A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Kinetic sculpture, A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Kinetic sculpture, A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Kinetic sculpture, A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Kinetic sculpture, A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Kinetic sculpture, A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Kinetic sculpture, A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Kinetic sculpture, A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Kinetic sculpture, A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Kinetic sculpture, A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Kinetic sculpture, A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Kinetic sculpture, A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Kinetic sculpture, A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Kinetic sculpture, A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Kinetic sculpture, A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Kinetic sculpture, A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Kinetic sculpture, A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Kinetic sculpture, A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Kinetic sculpture, A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Kinetic sculpture, A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Kinetic sculpture, A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley
Science Museum Group
© The Board of Trustees of the Science Museum

Kinetic sculpture, A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley, a railway-themed automaton designed by Rowland Emett, 1984. The last and largest of his works, it was built for a shopping centre in Basildon, but never installed.

It comprises eight separate automota, each representing a scene on a journey on Emett’s fictional Far Tottering & Oyster Creek Railway.

Made of various materials including wood, polychrome wood, fibreglass, motors and electrical wiring, textile, metal, rubber, copper, lead, lightbulbs, plastic.

A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley was the last and largest of the automata created by Rowland Emett, one of Britain’s foremost artists in the field of kinetic sculpture. it was built in 1984 for a shopping centre in Basildon, but never installed.

Born in London in 1906, Emmet studied at the Birmingham School of Arts & Crafts, before working as a commercial artist and then for the Air Ministry during the Second World War. He began producing cartoons for Punch in 1939, eventually becoming the magazine’s cartoon editor. His intricate drawings were inspired by the wonders of Victorian engineering and often featured unusual trains hauled by engines with elongated boilers and tall chimneys, carrying an eccentric range of passengers.

In 1951 Emett designed a real-life version of his Far Twittering & Oyster Creek Railway for the Festival of Britain, at which it carried over 2 million passengers. He also designed the inventions of Caractacus Potts for the 1968 film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and his working sculptures were exhibited at venues around the world. Emett died in 1990.

A Quiet Afternoon in the Cloud Cuckoo Valley comprises eight separate automota, each representing a scene on a journey on Emett’s fictional Far Tottering & Oyster Creek Railway. The passenger train, pulled by a locomotive named Wild Goose, runs on a raised railway. At Cow Parsley meadow, cows nod their heads as a farmer plays to them on his harp, and at Far Tottering a water wheel revolves. A fisherman hauls a mermaid into his net at Shrimphaven, while at Wisteria Halt a clock is positioned at the top of a flowering tree. An ornithologist, disguised as a bush, cycles past Twittering Woods, with a bird nesting in his bicycle lamp. An elderly gentleman in a Victorian swimsuit dives from a bathing machine at Oyster Creek, and the journey ends with a Wishing Well.

The clock at Wisteria Halt is designed to strike on the quarter hour, at which point all the automata come to life for a few minutes.

Details

Category:
Miscellanea & Curiosities
Object Number:
2020-4
Materials:
wood (unidentified), fibreglass, textile, metal (unknown), rubber (unidentified), copper (metal), lead (metal) and plastic (unidentified)
Measurements:
rails: 1.25 m x 1.2 m x 3.4 m,
bathing machine: 1.6 m x 1.25 m x 3.6 m,
buffers: 1.25 m x 1.2 m x .9 m,
sea fisherman: 2.2 m x 1.15 m x 1.2 m,
river fisherman: 1.4 m x .9 m x 1.45 m,
flatbed wagon: 2.1 m x .75 m x 1.4 m,
first class carriage: 2.35 m x .7 m x 1.4 m,
wishing well: 1.86 m x 2.1 m x 2.1 m,
picnic tree: 6.22 m x 2.2 m x 2.2 m,
farmer and cows: 1.6 m x 1.25 m x 2.48 m,
ornithologist: 2.4 m x 1.25 m x 2.5 m,
locomotive: 3.28 m x .9 m x 2.7 m,
water wheel: 4.15 m x 1.3 m x 2.8 m,
type:
automaton
credit:
Acquired with the support of the Science Museum Foundation, Art Fund and the Friends of the National Railway Museum

Parts

Train set comprising locomotive ‘Wild Goose’ with detachable chimney, carriage with grandmother and grandson, grandson’s butterfly net, wagon, two sections of track, level crossing gates, a buffer, and separate small fisherman.

Wild Goose locomotive sculpture and associated parts

Train set comprising locomotive ‘Wild Goose’ with detachable chimney, carriage with grandmother and grandson, grandson’s butterfly net, wagon, two sections of track, level crossing gates, a buffer, and separate small fisherman.

Object Number:
2020-4/1
type:
automaton
Locomotive with driver, “Wild Goose”, driver turns at the waist and is toasting teacakes which rotate, pistons move up and down and locomotive moves back and forth on track

Locomotive with driver, "Wild Goose"

Locomotive with driver, “Wild Goose”, driver turns at the waist and is toasting teacakes which rotate, pistons move up and down and locomotive moves back and forth on track

Materials:
brass (copper, zinc alloy) , wood (unidentified) , glass , papier-mâché and plastic (unidentified)
Object Number:
2020-4/1/1
type:
automaton
Part of:
2020-4/1
First class carriage, yellow and green with curtains and glass chandelier, with grandmother seated and grandson leaning out of carriage window, carriage moves back and forth on track

First Class Carriage with grandmother and grandson

First class carriage, yellow and green with curtains and glass chandelier, with grandmother seated and grandson leaning out of carriage window, carriage moves back and forth on track

Materials:
textile , glass , plastic (unidentified) , metal (unknown) , paint , ceramic (unspecified) , brass (copper, zinc alloy) and wood (unidentified)
Object Number:
2020-4/1/2
type:
automaton
Part of:
2020-4/1
Grey flatbed wagon with man and blue gramophone, man rotates on his chair and gramophone record spins, wagon moves back and forth on track in time with carriage

Flatbed wagon with man playing gramophone records

Grey flatbed wagon with man and blue gramophone, man rotates on his chair and gramophone record spins, wagon moves back and forth on track in time with carriage

Materials:
wood (unidentified) , metal (unknown) , rubber (unidentified) , glass , copper (alloy) and textile
Object Number:
2020-4/1/3
type:
automaton
Part of:
2020-4/1
Locomotive chimney with cloud of “steam”, moves up and down (can be removed from locomotive for movement and storage)

Locomotive chimney with steam

Locomotive chimney with cloud of “steam”, moves up and down (can be removed from locomotive for movement and storage)

Materials:
metal (unknown) and polyester wadding
Object Number:
2020-4/1/6
type:
automaton
Part of:
2020-4/1
Level Crossing gates and red signal with light, with sign reading “Trains Cross Here. So THERE” and small section of track

Level Crossing gates and red signal with light

Level Crossing gates and red signal with light, with sign reading “Trains Cross Here. So THERE” and small section of track

Materials:
wood (unidentified) , metal (unknown) , paint , glass and copper (alloy)
Object Number:
2020-4/1/8
type:
automaton
Part of:
2020-4/1
“Cow Parsley Meadow” with farmer playing a harp, cow parsley on stalks, and three cows with bobbing heads on base, small milking stool and upturned bucket fixed to base

Cow Parsley Meadow sculpture

“Cow Parsley Meadow” with farmer playing a harp, cow parsley on stalks, and three cows with bobbing heads on base, small milking stool and upturned bucket fixed to base

Materials:
wood (unidentified) , metal (unknown) , paint and synthetic fibre
Object Number:
2020-4/2
type:
automaton
Water wheel assembly, “Far Tottering” comprising water wheel with copper paddles and one saucepan, base with trough, weather vane, and green support poles

Far Tottering sculpture and associated parts

Water wheel assembly, “Far Tottering” comprising water wheel with copper paddles and one saucepan, base with trough, weather vane, and green support poles

Object Number:
2020-4/3
type:
automaton
Support for water wheel, straight green pole

Straight green support pole for water wheel

Support for water wheel, straight green pole

Measurements:
overall: 70 mm x 50 mm x 2750 mm,
Object Number:
2020-4/3/5
type:
automaton
Part of:
2020-4/3
Wavy green rod for water wheel

Wavy green rod for water wheel

Wavy green rod for water wheel

Measurements:
overall: 30 mm x 350 mm x 1800 mm,
Object Number:
2020-4/3/6
type:
automaton
Part of:
2020-4/3
Branch with curved copper pole for water wheel

Branch with curved copper pole for water wheel

Branch with curved copper pole for water wheel

Measurements:
overall: 50 mm x 650 mm x 2000 mm,
Object Number:
2020-4/3/7
type:
automaton
Part of:
2020-4/3
Tree and clock, “Wisteria Halt” comprising base with squirrel and stove, large tree section with pink flowers, clock with four faces, umbrella, and picnic basket with tea set and cakes

Wisteria Halt sculpture and associated parts

Tree and clock, “Wisteria Halt” comprising base with squirrel and stove, large tree section with pink flowers, clock with four faces, umbrella, and picnic basket with tea set and cakes

Object Number:
2020-4/4
type:
automaton
Gold clock assembly for top of tree, four faces each telling different time

Gold clock with four faces

Gold clock assembly for top of tree, four faces each telling different time

Measurements:
crate: 1770 mm x 610 mm x 600 mm,
Materials:
metal (unknown) and paint
Object Number:
2020-4/4/3
type:
automaton
Part of:
2020-4/4
Fisherman and boat, “Nellie”, with mermaid trapped in fishing net

Fisherman and boat sculpture and associated parts

Fisherman and boat, “Nellie”, with mermaid trapped in fishing net

Object Number:
2020-4/5
type:
automaton
Ornithologist on bicycle, “Twittering Wood” with trees, birds, and flowers

Twittering Wood sculpture and associated parts

Ornithologist on bicycle, “Twittering Wood” with trees, birds, and flowers

Object Number:
2020-4/6
type:
automaton
Ornithologist, man on bicycle holding a teacake, wearing blue suit, hat, and glasses. Bicycle fixed to base, front wheel steers and back wheel turns, base features trees, birds, and flowers, copper water feature at front

Ornithologist on bicycle in "Twittering Wood"

Ornithologist, man on bicycle holding a teacake, wearing blue suit, hat, and glasses. Bicycle fixed to base, front wheel steers and back wheel turns, base features trees, birds, and flowers, copper water feature at front

Materials:
wood (unidentified) , metal (unknown) , paint , rubber (unidentified) and plastic (unidentified)
Object Number:
2020-4/6/1
type:
automaton
Part of:
2020-4/6
Bathing machine on wheels, blue and white stripes, “Wm Hake Lobsters Bathing & Smuggling” with diver, section of water, and ‘Shrimphaven Sands’ sign

Bathing Machine and diver sculpture and associated parts

Bathing machine on wheels, blue and white stripes, “Wm Hake Lobsters Bathing & Smuggling” with diver, section of water, and ‘Shrimphaven Sands’ sign

Object Number:
2020-4/7
type:
automaton
Bathing machine with integral diver on mechanism, blue and white stripes and “Wm Hake Lobsters Bathing & Smuggling” written on side, with wheels, and lobster baskets to rear

Bathing Machine and diver sculpture

Bathing machine with integral diver on mechanism, blue and white stripes and “Wm Hake Lobsters Bathing & Smuggling” written on side, with wheels, and lobster baskets to rear

Materials:
wood (unidentified) , textile , stone , metal (unknown) , synthetic fibre , shell , fibreglass and nylon
Object Number:
2020-4/7/1
type:
automaton
Part of:
2020-4/7
Section of water for diver, blue wooden board with space for diver to fit through. Four white detachable legs hold the board up

Section of water for diver

Section of water for diver, blue wooden board with space for diver to fit through. Four white detachable legs hold the board up

Materials:
wood (unidentified) , paint and metal (unknown)
Object Number:
2020-4/7/2
type:
automaton
Part of:
2020-4/7
Wishing Well, large circular well with cupola (roof) and bucket

Wishing Well sculpture and associated parts

Wishing Well, large circular well with cupola (roof) and bucket

Object Number:
2020-4/8
type:
automaton
Metal bucket for wishing well, bucket is lifted up and down

Bucket for Wishing Well

Metal bucket for wishing well, bucket is lifted up and down

Measurements:
overall: 500 mm x 500 mm x 700 mm,
Materials:
metal (unknown)
Object Number:
2020-4/8/3
type:
automaton
Part of:
2020-4/8

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