Died 7 January 1882 | ||
John Jones (c. 1798/1799, Middlesex – 7 January 1882) was an art collector. He bequeathed his collection to the South Kensington Museum (which is now the Victoria and Albert Museum). The collection is regarded as important for the French decorative arts of the 18th century.
Jones settled in London and became a tailor and clothier for the British army. Becoming wealthy, he retired from business in 1850. He devoted himself to collecting objets d'art, mostly French, which he exhibited in his house in Piccadilly. A catalogue of his bequest to the South Kensington Museum was published in 1882. The collection contains about 780 books and 1034 other items, including 313 prints, 105 paintings, 137 portrait miniatures, 147 pieces of porcelain, and 135 pieces of furniture. The Jones collection contains the first three Shakespeare folios and examples of the work of the principal French cabinet-makers of the 18th-century, including Jean-François Oeben, Martin Carlin, Jean-François Leleu, and Jean-Henri Riesener.
The French furniture comprises an escritoire of great value and technical merit which belonged to Marie Antoinette, marquetrie cabinets which are marvels of exquisite inlaying, and otherwise superbly delicate ornamentation. The carriage clock of Marie Antoinette has the charms of its associations.