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Banjo Clock

Banjo Clock

Maker (American, 1753 - 1848)
Collections
ClassificationsDECORATIVE ARTS
Dateca. 1805
Mediummahogany, glass, reverse-painted glass panels, and brass
Dimensions29 1/2 x 9 3/4 x 4 in. (74.9 x 24.8 x 10.2 cm.)
DescriptionBanjo clock from Roxbury, Massachusetts
SignedThe eglomise base panel signed: S. Willard Patent
InscribedThe eglomise base panel signed: S. Willard Patent
Credit LineThe Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens. Gail-Oxford Collection
Label TextKnown as a “banjo” clock because of its distinctive shape, wall-mounted time pieces such as this became immensely popular in this country in the first quarter of the 19th century.

First developed and patented in 1801 by Simon Willard, these clocks were simply designed and manufactured making them affordable to an ever-expanding American middle class.

Status
On view
Object number2016.11.16
Tall Case Clock
Tall Case Clock
Jonathan Mulliken II
ca. 1775
Object number: 2016.11.10
Shelf Clock
Shelf Clock
Eli Terry
1816-1825
Object number: 2017.5.12
Mantel Clock
Mantel Clock
Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory
1800-1810
Object number: 10.107
Mantel Clock
Mantel Clock
Joseph Léonard Roque
ca. 1780
Object number: 27.102
Mantel Clock
Mantel Clock
Japy Freres & Cie
ca. 1785 and later
Object number: 27.182
Mantel Clock
Mantel Clock
Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory
ca. 1806-1810
Object number: 78.20.75
Photography © 2015 Fredrik Nilsen
Mantel Clock
Sèvres Porcelain Manufactory
1782-1783
Object number: 27.110
Tall Case Clock
Tall Case Clock
Unknown, American
ca. 1765
Object number: 2016.25.19
Mantel Clock
Mantel Clock
1781
Object number: 78.20.74
Mantel Clock
Mantel Clock
ca. 1775
Object number: 16.9
Photography © 2014 Fredrik Nilsen
Federal Tall Case Clock
Riley Whiting
ca. 1820
Object number: L2015.41.23
Clock
Clock
Louis Montjoye I
1770-1780
Object number: 27.113