A FEDERAL MAHOGANY TALL-CASE CLOCK

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A FEDERAL MAHOGANY TALL-CASE CLOCK
BY BENJAMIN WILLARD, ROXBURY, MASSACHUSETTS, CIRCA 1775

The hood with pierced fretwork centering three brass ball-and-spire finials above an arched glazed door opening to an engraved silvered dial with Roman and Arabic chapter rings enclosing a sweep seconds ring and calendar day ring signed "Benja.n Willard" and numbered "No. 239," the spandrels embellished with elaborate engraved C-scrolls flanked by fluted colonettes with a rectangular cupboard door flanked by fluted quarter columns above a box base with base molded, on straight bracket feet (dial resilvered)--93in. high, 19 1/8in. wide, 9 3/4in. deep

Lot Essay

Benjamin Willard (1743-1803), was the eldest of the four famous Willard brothers who were clock makers in Massachusetts. He began his own business after purchasing land in Grafton, Massachusetts in 1764.
Seven years later, Willard expanded his business to Roxbury where he worked until 1784, before returning to Grafton. For a discussion of Benjamin Willard, see Edwin A. Battison and Patricia E. Kane, The American Clock 1725-1865, pp. 54-55.

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