Tall Case Clock

“Broken scroll” pediments became popular on clocks and other case furniture during the mid-18th century and continued, incorporating ornamental changes in taste and fashion, well into the 19th century. This example includes carved naturalistic ornament in the rococo style, popular during the second half of the 18th century. Elaborate carving like this might be completed by specialist carvers working either as contractors or as employees of cabinetshops. Philadelphia carvers produced some of the most elaborate and sinuous rococo carving in America. The Philadelphia clockmaker, Edward Duffield, member of the American Philosophical Society and good friend of Benjamin Franklin’s, included a moon phase sphere in the arch of the pediment. Painted silver on one side and black on the other, the sphere mimics the phases of the moon as it slowly rotates. Below the sphere is a lunar date calendar wheel and a strike/silent (S-N) lever. The date of the month appears in the square aperture just below the center of the dial. Learn more at the link below.