Federal Patent Timepiece or "Banjo" Clock

Description:

Federal Patent Timepiece or "Banjo" Clock, Lemuel Curtis, Concord, Massachusetts, c. 1815, the mahogany case with gilded rope frames enclosing painted tablets, the waist glass with stenciled leafage, flowers and signed Curtis Patent within a red banner flanked by brass side ornaments, the lower glass with War of 1812 naval engagement and marked Wasp & Frolick depicting the sailing vessels on a turbulent sea flanking a central gold shield and eagle pendulum aperture, 7 1/2 in. dia. convex dial with Arabic numerals, barbed steel hands, eight-day timepiece with butterfly pallet bridge, pendulum and lead weight, (minor restoration),ht. 33 3/4 in.

Provenance: Pleasants Family, Lewisburg, North Carolina.

Exhibition: The White House, Washington, D.C. 1971-77, The High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia, 1977.

Reference: Patent timepieces by Lemuel Curtis (1790-1857),Concord, Massachusetts are exceedingly rare. For another example, c. 1812-1815 at the Concord Museum, see David F. Wood, 'Concord, Massachusetts, Clockmakers, 1811-1831;' The Magazine Antiques, May 2001, Pl. 1, p. 762.




Estimate $30,000-50,000

Glasses, gilded frames and dial are original; both glasses with minor in-painting and stabilized to prevent flaking, dial numeral "3" has been enhanced, movement, pulley, pendulum, hands are original; all brass hardware is original.

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