Tall case clock

Creator:: Revere, Paul, 1735-1818
Willard, Aaron, Jr., 1757-1844
Published/Created:: Boston, Suffolk county, Massachusetts, United States
ca. 1800–1820
Physical Description:: 100 1/4 x 19 x 9 1/2 in.
Materials:: Mahogany; brass; paint; gilding; églomisé glass
Notes:: Sack catalogue description: Original catalogue description (October 1976) – Hepplewhite mahogany tall clock made by Aaron Willard, Jr., bearing the original directions for setting up the clock engraved by Paul Revere, the case has finely figured grained fronts of waist and base with crossbanded borders and French feet; original beautifully scrolled fretwork and brass finials, the dial and door are exceptional and unique, the concave dished dial has a domed panel above painted in gilt on a white background with the name, "Aaron Willard, Washington St., Boston"; the glass door features an églomisé landscape in pastel colors with floral églomisé spandrels in the corners flanking the dished dial, behind the works on the inside of the backboard is the contemporary chalk inscription "A. Willard," old or original finish. Updated catalogue description (1979) – The association with one of America's greatest clockmakers, namely Aaron Willard of Boston, and Paul Revere, the engraver and patriot, in the fabrication of a tall clock, results in this superb example fashioned likewise by the artist engaged in the églomisé panels and the craftsman employed to make the case – both unknown and undocumented. Without the genius of the two latter unknowns, this creation could not have been achieved. The excellence of form and proportion along with the refreshing dished dial enclosed in the painted and decorated églomisé panel found usually in shelf clock usage confirms again the genius required to combine hitherto uncombined elements into a successful and integrated unit. While the Doggett family is known to have worked in decorated églomisé panels and to have been successful as cabinetmakers, this clock is a superb example of the adventure to be found in definitive research. Exhibited in the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Boston, Massachusetts, 1933; ex-collection Israel Sack, Inc., 1937; ex-collection Charles K. Davis.
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Bibliography: Book: American Antiques from Israel Sack Collection, 10 vols. (Washington, D.C.: Highland House Publishers, 1957–1990), vol. 5, pp. 1318–1319, pl. P4353; vol. 6, p. 28, pl. P4353. Journal/Periodical: The Magazine Antiques (January 1941): p. 20.
Variant Titles:: Hepplewhite mahogany tall clock
Topics:: Decoration and ornament -- Hepplewhite style
Furniture -- United States
Period/Style:: Federal
Hepplewhite
Culture:: American
Accession Number:: 4353
Genre:: tall case clocks (AAT)
Format:: Image
Physical Object
Content Type:: Furnishings & Decorative Arts
Prints & Photographs
Rights:: The use of this image may be subject to the copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) or to site license or other rights management terms and conditions. The person using the image is liable for any infringement
Access Restrictions:: Public
Source Title:: Israel Sack, Inc., Archive
Source Created:: New York, New York, United States
1957–1990
Source Note:: Sack, October 1976; Sack, 1979
This information is taken from the Israel Sack Furniture Archive and may not reflect current scholarship.
Folder:: Folder 10718 cab4dr3 tif
Yale Collection:: Yale University Art Gallery
Digital Collection:: Israel Sack Furniture Archive
oid pointer:: 10989276
OID:: 11977735
PID:: digcoll:1024419