- Tall Clock
- Eight-day Clock
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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
Indecipherable marks inside backboard
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
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