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拍品专文
The Hunter-Dunn tall-case clock, with its engraved, silvered, cast and enamelled dial housed in a block-and-shell case carved from textured plum-pudding mahogany, is as impressive today as when it was first made by James Wady. Utilizing the skills of clockmaker, cabinetmaker, carver, engraver, and brazier, this clock demonstrates the combination of skills, materials, and business acumen required by clockmakers before the mid eighteenth century in America. Furthermore, the clock offered here documents the quality and originality of the furnishings created by local craftsmen for Newport's most prominent families.
Five clocks signed by James Wady are currently known; the one being offered here; a second in the collection of the Winterthur Museum (fig.2); a third at The Hunter House in Newport; a forth is illustrated in Moses, Master Craftsmen of Newport: The Townsends and Goddards (New Jersey, 1984), p.235, fig.5.23a; and a fifth, also in a private collection, is illustrated in Champlin, "Willaim Claggett and His Clockmaking Family," in Newport History (Summer 1974), p.180). Of the five known, four of the dials are closely related. Two are signed in mixed capitals and two are signed in block capitals. Each of the four have an identical composition with a silvered dial, a Roman chapter ring with black numerals separated by fleur-de-lys and with subsidiary dials in the upper spandrels, cast espagnolettes in the lower spandrels. All four have lunar dials with finely engraved and cross-hatched shading, three of which are on vivid blue enamelled grounds.
Although the dials are remarkably similar, the five cases differ due to the various cabinetmakers making cases for the Wady shop as well as the tide of changing fashions. The clock owned by the Hunter House and the one illustrated by Champlin are housed beneath relatively simple, sarcophagus-shaped pediments. The Winterthur and that illustrated by Moses have unusual broken, swan's-neck pediments and double cornice moldings adorned with pierced brass and gilded paper fretwork over concave shell-carved doors. The Hunter-Dunn clock, with its lobed central finial, convex shell-carved door, and high bracket feet, appears to be unique to the group but related to contemporaneous clock cases made in Newport.
Little about the life of James Wady has come to light. His place and date of birth are a mystery but the significance of his apprenticeship with William Claggett (1696- ), the patriarch of the celebrated family of clockmakers and his subsequently marriage to William's daughter, Mary in 1736, has been noted (Champlin, 1974, p.182). Several clocks bearing Claggett's name have similar dials and cases to Wady examples and may shed light on Claggett-Wady shop practices (approximately fifty tall-case clocks with a variety of cases are signed by Claggett, see Champlin, 1974,157-185 and Lockwood, Colonial Furniture in America, New York, 1926, vol. 2, p.282-286).
The four, nearly identical Wady dials enumerated above, correspond closely with a number of Claggett dials, including: one illustrated in Palmer, The Book of American Clocks (New York, 1950), fig.15; another in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (illustrated in Heckscher, Queen Anne and Chippendale Furniture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, 1985), p.294); and a third in the collection of the State Department (illustrated in Rollins and Conger, Treasures of State (New York, 1981), p.176-7). Those at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and in the State Department have the very same unusually shaped and brass or glit-decorated pediments and cornices as the Wady examples at Wintethur clock and that illustrated by Moses. In addition, there are close stylistic parallels in the shell-carved doors of the Metropolitan's Claggett and Winterthur's Wady clocks. Furthermore, the Hunter-Dunn clock bears a similar hood and concave shell carved door to a later Thomas Claggett clock and illustrated in Champlin "Thomas Claggett: Silversmith, Swordsman. Clockmaker," in Newport History (Summer 1976), vol.49, p.67, figs.6,7. All of these parallels indicate that Wady with his father-in-law and mentor Claggett worked within the same milieu and probably ordered parts and cases from common sources.
The Hunter-Dunn clock case may have been constructed by Job or Christopher Townsend. A connection between Job Townsend I (1699-1765) and William Claggett has been established on the basis of a day book recording debts owed to the clockmaker by the joiner for "2 pairs Clock Case hinges... 2 Cab lox... a Scucheons... 1 lb. nails" in 1734." Claggett and Townsend lived near each other on Bridge Street and a relationship between the two families can be assumed. Job II, for example, made the coffin for Thomas Claggett (d.1797) (Champlin, 1974, p.171,185). Given the relationship of William Claggett and Wady and the character of the carved mahogany case being offered here, it may be suggested that a member of the first generation of the Townsend family constructed this clock.
THE HUNTER AND DUNN FAMILIES OF NEWPORT
In 1873 two of Newport's most venerable families were united through the marriage of Thomas Dunn (1834-1916) and Kate Hunter (1849-1930). With residences in Holderness, New Hampshire, and Katonah, New York their primary residence was in Newport and the tall-case clock presented here, is thought to have been amongst their furnishings there. On August 11, 1877, the Newport Mercury provides information about a house being built by Mrs. Dunn on the bay shore above the Maitland. The house was to be a large home of two stories with Mansard roof, towers and at an estimated cost of $30,000 (a drawing of a "Country House," never built but proposed for Mrs. Dunn by Charles McKim is illustrated in Downing and Scully, The Architectural Heritage of Newport Rhode Island (Newport, 1952, pl. 193)). In 1919, Mrs. Dunn's home in Newport had reportedly become the Cloyne School (Newport Daily News, April 1, 1919, p.12).
Kate Hunter Dunn died in 1930 at her home in Katonah, New York. The majority of her estate and the Wady clock was inherited by her daughter Anna Caroline Rotch Dunn (1879-1959), and with its rich plum-pudding mahogany, dazzling face, and carved mahogany finials, descended to the present owner. Anna Caroline Rotch Dunn, who never married, is well known through her diaries which have provided an invaluable source of information on early 20th century American artists who traveled through Newport. Her estate was left to a number of cousins including the recipient of the clock, Reverend Elbert Lansing Bennett of Salibury, Massachusetts, and later Cape Cod.
Although the earliest history of the Hunter-Dunn clock has not been documented, it seems likely that it was originally made for the Hunter Family. In 1752, the English-born Dr. William Hunter (d. 1777) was sent to America as a Surgeon to the Colonial Naval Troops. In 1758 he was appointed to the General Assembly as Physician & Surgeon of Troops in the Colony of Rhode Island. In 1761, he married Deborah Malbone (1744-1813). His youngest son Senator William Hunter (1774-1849) married Mary Robinson in 1804 and subsequently purchased the Nichols Wanton house on Washington Street in 1805 for $5000 (Porter, The Hunter House: Mansion of Hospitality (Newport, 1976), p. 9). In his last will and testament Senator Hunter left his wife "the use and enjoyment of all the goods and chattels, furniture and plate, now in and upon said estate..." on Washington Street. Senator William and Mary's fifth child was Captain Charles Hunter of the U.S. Navy (1813-1873). Having grown up with a view of the ocean in the Hunter House, Charles Hunter entered the Navy as a midshipman in 1831 and was promoted to a lieutenant in 1841. He married Mary Stockton Rotch of New Bedford in 1848 and had four daughters. Captain Hunter's career was controversial as he was discharged from the Navy in 1862 after breaching neutrality with Spain by firing on a ship in Cuban waters and only reinstated as a captain on the retired list in 1867 by an act of Congress. Captain Hunter would die in the waters when in 1873 he, his wife and second daughter were traveling to France on the S.S. Ville de Havre are were lost at sea. His oldest daughter Kate Hunter went on to marry Thomas Dunn and together they passed the James Wady clock to their descendants.
It is also possible that the clock was first made for the Dunn Family. Reverend Thomas Dunn (b. 1763) was born in Devonshire, educated in Bristol and came to settle on the Hudson River and later near lake Champlain with his wife Mary Puddicombe Dunn (1763-1833). Their son Theophilus Calhoun Dunn (1800-1871), followed the traditions of his mother's family and became a doctor, educated at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1821 he moved to Newport, R.I., and married Elizabeth Robinson Potter in 1824, daughter of Captain Robinson Potter of Newport. Theophilus was the father of seven children, four of whom survived infancy. One of his children was Thomas Dunn (1834-1916) who, with his wife, Kate Hunter came to own the Hunter-Dunn clock.
Five clocks signed by James Wady are currently known; the one being offered here; a second in the collection of the Winterthur Museum (fig.2); a third at The Hunter House in Newport; a forth is illustrated in Moses, Master Craftsmen of Newport: The Townsends and Goddards (New Jersey, 1984), p.235, fig.5.23a; and a fifth, also in a private collection, is illustrated in Champlin, "Willaim Claggett and His Clockmaking Family," in Newport History (Summer 1974), p.180). Of the five known, four of the dials are closely related. Two are signed in mixed capitals and two are signed in block capitals. Each of the four have an identical composition with a silvered dial, a Roman chapter ring with black numerals separated by fleur-de-lys and with subsidiary dials in the upper spandrels, cast espagnolettes in the lower spandrels. All four have lunar dials with finely engraved and cross-hatched shading, three of which are on vivid blue enamelled grounds.
Although the dials are remarkably similar, the five cases differ due to the various cabinetmakers making cases for the Wady shop as well as the tide of changing fashions. The clock owned by the Hunter House and the one illustrated by Champlin are housed beneath relatively simple, sarcophagus-shaped pediments. The Winterthur and that illustrated by Moses have unusual broken, swan's-neck pediments and double cornice moldings adorned with pierced brass and gilded paper fretwork over concave shell-carved doors. The Hunter-Dunn clock, with its lobed central finial, convex shell-carved door, and high bracket feet, appears to be unique to the group but related to contemporaneous clock cases made in Newport.
Little about the life of James Wady has come to light. His place and date of birth are a mystery but the significance of his apprenticeship with William Claggett (1696- ), the patriarch of the celebrated family of clockmakers and his subsequently marriage to William's daughter, Mary in 1736, has been noted (Champlin, 1974, p.182). Several clocks bearing Claggett's name have similar dials and cases to Wady examples and may shed light on Claggett-Wady shop practices (approximately fifty tall-case clocks with a variety of cases are signed by Claggett, see Champlin, 1974,157-185 and Lockwood, Colonial Furniture in America, New York, 1926, vol. 2, p.282-286).
The four, nearly identical Wady dials enumerated above, correspond closely with a number of Claggett dials, including: one illustrated in Palmer, The Book of American Clocks (New York, 1950), fig.15; another in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art (illustrated in Heckscher, Queen Anne and Chippendale Furniture at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, 1985), p.294); and a third in the collection of the State Department (illustrated in Rollins and Conger, Treasures of State (New York, 1981), p.176-7). Those at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and in the State Department have the very same unusually shaped and brass or glit-decorated pediments and cornices as the Wady examples at Wintethur clock and that illustrated by Moses. In addition, there are close stylistic parallels in the shell-carved doors of the Metropolitan's Claggett and Winterthur's Wady clocks. Furthermore, the Hunter-Dunn clock bears a similar hood and concave shell carved door to a later Thomas Claggett clock and illustrated in Champlin "Thomas Claggett: Silversmith, Swordsman. Clockmaker," in Newport History (Summer 1976), vol.49, p.67, figs.6,7. All of these parallels indicate that Wady with his father-in-law and mentor Claggett worked within the same milieu and probably ordered parts and cases from common sources.
The Hunter-Dunn clock case may have been constructed by Job or Christopher Townsend. A connection between Job Townsend I (1699-1765) and William Claggett has been established on the basis of a day book recording debts owed to the clockmaker by the joiner for "2 pairs Clock Case hinges... 2 Cab lox... a Scucheons... 1 lb. nails" in 1734." Claggett and Townsend lived near each other on Bridge Street and a relationship between the two families can be assumed. Job II, for example, made the coffin for Thomas Claggett (d.1797) (Champlin, 1974, p.171,185). Given the relationship of William Claggett and Wady and the character of the carved mahogany case being offered here, it may be suggested that a member of the first generation of the Townsend family constructed this clock.
THE HUNTER AND DUNN FAMILIES OF NEWPORT
In 1873 two of Newport's most venerable families were united through the marriage of Thomas Dunn (1834-1916) and Kate Hunter (1849-1930). With residences in Holderness, New Hampshire, and Katonah, New York their primary residence was in Newport and the tall-case clock presented here, is thought to have been amongst their furnishings there. On August 11, 1877, the Newport Mercury provides information about a house being built by Mrs. Dunn on the bay shore above the Maitland. The house was to be a large home of two stories with Mansard roof, towers and at an estimated cost of $30,000 (a drawing of a "Country House," never built but proposed for Mrs. Dunn by Charles McKim is illustrated in Downing and Scully, The Architectural Heritage of Newport Rhode Island (Newport, 1952, pl. 193)). In 1919, Mrs. Dunn's home in Newport had reportedly become the Cloyne School (Newport Daily News, April 1, 1919, p.12).
Kate Hunter Dunn died in 1930 at her home in Katonah, New York. The majority of her estate and the Wady clock was inherited by her daughter Anna Caroline Rotch Dunn (1879-1959), and with its rich plum-pudding mahogany, dazzling face, and carved mahogany finials, descended to the present owner. Anna Caroline Rotch Dunn, who never married, is well known through her diaries which have provided an invaluable source of information on early 20th century American artists who traveled through Newport. Her estate was left to a number of cousins including the recipient of the clock, Reverend Elbert Lansing Bennett of Salibury, Massachusetts, and later Cape Cod.
Although the earliest history of the Hunter-Dunn clock has not been documented, it seems likely that it was originally made for the Hunter Family. In 1752, the English-born Dr. William Hunter (d. 1777) was sent to America as a Surgeon to the Colonial Naval Troops. In 1758 he was appointed to the General Assembly as Physician & Surgeon of Troops in the Colony of Rhode Island. In 1761, he married Deborah Malbone (1744-1813). His youngest son Senator William Hunter (1774-1849) married Mary Robinson in 1804 and subsequently purchased the Nichols Wanton house on Washington Street in 1805 for $5000 (Porter, The Hunter House: Mansion of Hospitality (Newport, 1976), p. 9). In his last will and testament Senator Hunter left his wife "the use and enjoyment of all the goods and chattels, furniture and plate, now in and upon said estate..." on Washington Street. Senator William and Mary's fifth child was Captain Charles Hunter of the U.S. Navy (1813-1873). Having grown up with a view of the ocean in the Hunter House, Charles Hunter entered the Navy as a midshipman in 1831 and was promoted to a lieutenant in 1841. He married Mary Stockton Rotch of New Bedford in 1848 and had four daughters. Captain Hunter's career was controversial as he was discharged from the Navy in 1862 after breaching neutrality with Spain by firing on a ship in Cuban waters and only reinstated as a captain on the retired list in 1867 by an act of Congress. Captain Hunter would die in the waters when in 1873 he, his wife and second daughter were traveling to France on the S.S. Ville de Havre are were lost at sea. His oldest daughter Kate Hunter went on to marry Thomas Dunn and together they passed the James Wady clock to their descendants.
It is also possible that the clock was first made for the Dunn Family. Reverend Thomas Dunn (b. 1763) was born in Devonshire, educated in Bristol and came to settle on the Hudson River and later near lake Champlain with his wife Mary Puddicombe Dunn (1763-1833). Their son Theophilus Calhoun Dunn (1800-1871), followed the traditions of his mother's family and became a doctor, educated at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1821 he moved to Newport, R.I., and married Elizabeth Robinson Potter in 1824, daughter of Captain Robinson Potter of Newport. Theophilus was the father of seven children, four of whom survived infancy. One of his children was Thomas Dunn (1834-1916) who, with his wife, Kate Hunter came to own the Hunter-Dunn clock.