Edward Spalding
Tall Clock

CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Tall Clock
  • Eight-day Clock
Datec. 1765–1785
Made inProvidence, Rhode Island, United States
MediumMahogany; chestnut, white oak, black cherry, eastern white pine, southern yellow pine, and cherry
Dimensions100 3/8 × 21 1/2 × 12 in. (255 × 54.6 × 30.5 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Miss Ima Hogg
Object numberB.59.83
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Drawing Room
Exposé

Explore Further

Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
Description

Edward Spaulding is one of a group of clockmakers, including Lambert Lescoit (act. 1769–70), Payton Dana (act. c. 1800), Seril Dodge (d. 1802), and Caleb Wheaton (1757–1827), working in Providence during the second half of the eighteenth century. It is not known with whom Spaulding trained, but his earliest clock is inscribed “Providence” and dated 1753, presumably the same year he completed his apprenticeship. Invariably his movements have arched tops and are ornamented with cast spandrels or engraved ornament. In the Bayou Bend clock, a rocking ship is incorporated into the lunette along with an enigmatic inscription. The block-front case, unusual with its applied shell, is traditionally assigned to Newport, yet might well have been constructed in Providence.

Related examples: Antiques 63 (April 1953), p. 304; 79 (March 1961) p. 215; 85 (January 1964), p. 50; 128 (July 1985), p. 47; 131 (May 1987), p. 897; 132 (November 1987), p. 934; 139 (February 1991), inside cover; 143 (May 1993), p. 699. Also Chase 1940, p. 118; Sack 1969–92, vol. 7, p. 1702, no. P4857; Battison and Kane 1973, pp. 154–56, no. 34.

Book excerpt: Warren, David B., Michael K. Brown, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, and Emily Ballew Neff. American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. Houston: Princeton Univ. Press, 1998.


ProvenanceBy descent, the Calder family, Providence, Rhode Island; […]; [Israel Sack, New York]; Dr. John T. Germon, Evanston, Illinois; [Israel Sack, New York] [1]; purchased by Miss Ima Hogg, October 16,1959; given to MFAH, by 1966.

[1] Dr. John T. Germon returned the object to Israel Sack, Inc. because the clock did not work. Sack accepted Germon’s return and then made repairs to the clock.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Painted on arch: The Man Is Yet Unborn That Duly Weighs An Hour
Engraved on silvered nameplate: Spalding / Providence
Indecipherable marks inside backboard

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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Desk
c. 1700–1730
Black walnut, undetermined burl veneer, and eastern white pine; eastern white pine, black walnut, yellow-poplar, cherry, Cuban oyster wood (Gymnanthes lucida), and chestnut
B.69.42
Tall Clock
Nathan Howell
c. 1762–1784
Black cherry; eastern white pine and yellow-poplar
B.60.48
High Chest of Drawers
c. 1750–1800
Mahogany; chestnut, southern yellow pine, eastern white pine, and yellow-poplar
B.69.89
Sofa
c. 1750–1801
Mahogany; red oak, yellow-poplar, southern yellow pine, white oak, and eastern white pine
B.59.73
High Chest of Drawers
c. 1750–1782
Cherry; eastern white pine and southern yellow pine
B.28.1
Card Table
c. 1820–1830
Grained, painted, and gilded mahogany, and birch; mahogany veneer on eastern white pine with black walnut banding, ash, eastern white pine, cherry, and original brass casters
B.68.31
Armchair
c. 1785–1820
Mahogany; eastern white pine, ash, red oak, sweetgum, and black cherry
B.60.37.1
Image of B.60.37.2, representative of set
c. 1785–1820
Mahogany; eastern white pine, ash, red oak, sweetgum, and black cherry
B.60.37.2
Image of B.60.37.2, representative of set
c. 1785–1820
Mahogany; eastern white pine, ash, red oak, sweetgum, and black cherry
B.60.37.3
Image of B.60.37.2, representative of set
c. 1785–1820
Mahogany; eastern white pine, ash, red oak, sweetgum, and black cherry
B.60.37.4
Armchair
c. 1785–1820
Mahogany; eastern white pine, ash, red oak, sweetgum, and black cherry
B.60.37.5
Image of B.60.37.2, representative of set
c. 1785–1820
Mahogany; eastern white pine, ash, red oak, sweetgum, and black cherry
B.60.37.6