.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Displaying a sophisticated case and diminutive proportions, this dwarf clock by Joshua Wilder (1786-1860) of Hingham, Massachusetts illustrates one of the iconic forms of early American clockmaking. The case combines meticulous workmanship with high-style, urban design of the Federal era and represents the most elaborate model used by Wilder. A number of surviving dwarf clocks from the Hingham area, including those made by Wilder and Reuben Tower (1795-1881), display closely related cases that appear to have been made by the same cabinetmaker. A close comparison to one at Winterthur Museum (fig. 1) strongly suggests the work of the same hand. Both feature the same construction methods and, from the overall dimensions to the component parts, measurements that are virtually identical. The high quality of the craftsmanship suggests that the case was made by a cabinetmaker familiar with Boston-area practices. A possible candidate is Abiel White (1787-1844), who is known to have made clock cases for Wilder. White trained under Stephen Badlam (1751-1815) of Dorchester and later worked in Weymouth, a town neighboring Hingham.
Among the surviving clocks displaying the same basic model, variations include the presence or lack of quarter columns, brass or wooden capitals and plinths, banded or plain veneered case doors and bases and slightly flared or straight French feet. With all the extra decorative options, the clock seen here would have been the most expensive version available. A clock signed by Wilder with an almost identical case, though fitted with wooden capitals and plinths, was categorized as a "masterpiece" by Albert Sack. See Albert Sack, The New Fine Points of Furniture (New York, 1993), p. 145.
This clock is also distinguished by the original painted notation of J. Wilder on the reverse of the dial. Added by the paint-decorator while the dial was in his shop, this notation further illustrates the collaboration involved in clockmaking and sheds lights on the particular practices of Joshua Wilder. It indicates that the dial was sent out of Wilder's shop for its decoration and that it was sent to a specialist who worked simultaneously for different clock-makers and thus had the need to identify the maker of each dial in his shop. Like the case, the dial suggests the work of an urban or urban-trained craftsman and may be the work of one of the leading Boston paint-decorators, such as Spencer Nolen (w. 1804-1816 in Boston) or Samuel Curtis (1785-1876). A similar Wilder-signed dwarf clock bears a closely related dial that is similarly signed J. Wilder on the reverse and is almost certainly the work of the same craftsman (Sotheby's New York, June 17-18, 1997, lot 759).
Among the surviving clocks displaying the same basic model, variations include the presence or lack of quarter columns, brass or wooden capitals and plinths, banded or plain veneered case doors and bases and slightly flared or straight French feet. With all the extra decorative options, the clock seen here would have been the most expensive version available. A clock signed by Wilder with an almost identical case, though fitted with wooden capitals and plinths, was categorized as a "masterpiece" by Albert Sack. See Albert Sack, The New Fine Points of Furniture (New York, 1993), p. 145.
This clock is also distinguished by the original painted notation of J. Wilder on the reverse of the dial. Added by the paint-decorator while the dial was in his shop, this notation further illustrates the collaboration involved in clockmaking and sheds lights on the particular practices of Joshua Wilder. It indicates that the dial was sent out of Wilder's shop for its decoration and that it was sent to a specialist who worked simultaneously for different clock-makers and thus had the need to identify the maker of each dial in his shop. Like the case, the dial suggests the work of an urban or urban-trained craftsman and may be the work of one of the leading Boston paint-decorators, such as Spencer Nolen (w. 1804-1816 in Boston) or Samuel Curtis (1785-1876). A similar Wilder-signed dwarf clock bears a closely related dial that is similarly signed J. Wilder on the reverse and is almost certainly the work of the same craftsman (Sotheby's New York, June 17-18, 1997, lot 759).