Queen Anne Mahogany Block and Shell Carved Tall Case Clock

Description:

Queen Anne Mahogany Block and Shell Carved Tall Case Clock, with dial engraved "Caleb Wheaton Providence," Rhode Island, 1785-1810, the arched molded cornice is capped by three gilded carved urn and flame finials above the glazed door which opens to a silver plated brass dial with second and date hands and an eight-day time and strike movement, the dial engraved by Caleb Wheaton with his name and location centered in the arch below a bird flanked by an engraved scythe and hour glass on the left, and by an indistinct profile of Chronos on the right, all surmounted by the latin words "Ab hoc momento pendet aeternitas;" this bonnet is flanked by two sets of fluted columns above the shell-carved and blocked waist door over a paneled base on ogee bracket feet, old surface, (minor imperfections),case 91 3/4, with finial 96 1/4 in. Note: "Ab hoc momento pendet aeternitas" translates: "Eternity depends on this moment." Caleb Wheaton, 1757-1827, was a Providence, Rhode Island engraver and clockmaker. Literature: AMERICAN FURNITURE IN PENDLETON HOUSE, Museum of Art,, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, Rhode Island, by Christopher Monkhouse and Thomas S. Michie, page 89, figure 34, pictures an almost identical clock case and dial by Caleb Wheaton. In the past, many such block and shell cases were attributed to John Townsend of Newport, Rhode Island, substantiated by a 1786 receipt from Wheaton to the shop of John Goddard for two clock cases. This information appears in the above mentioned publication.
Estimate $100,000-150,000

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