DIAL SIGNED BY BENJAMIN CLARKE (W. 1791-1848), PHILADELPHIA; CASE, PHILADELPHIA OR LANCASTER COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, CIRCA 1795

Boldly ornamented with applied carving, pierced frets and an engraved rooster in the dial, this tall-case clock is an expressive survival of Pennsylvanian crafstmanship. Its case is closely related to a clock in the US Department of State, which also features dentilled molding in the pediment, thick, leafy carving above the dial, two bands of pierced fretwork and similar moldings applied to the base. As noted by Thomas S. Michie in his discussion of the related clock, these cases are reminiscent of that on the famous clock made by Benjamin Randolph and David Rittenhouse in 1774 and now at Drexel University. Though clearly made by a different hand, it too features an oversize bonnet along with closely related ornamental details. Citing Alan Miller and noting the relatively unpolished workmanship, Michie speculates that the State Department clock case was made by a craftsman working outside of Philadelphia, perhaps in Lancaster County (Thomas S. Michie, catalogue entry, Treasures of State: Fine and Decorative Arts in the Diplomatic Reception Rooms of the U.S. Department of State, Clement Conger and A.W. Rollins, eds. (New York, 1991), cat. 64, pp. 148-149). The clockmaker, Benjamin Clarke is recorded was working in Philadelphia in various locations on South Front and Market (High) Streets from 1791 to 1848 (see George H. Eckhardt, Pennsylvania Clocks and Clockmakers (New York, 1955), p. 173).