The Old Furniture Book, with a Sketch of Past Days and WaysMoore, N. Hudson
History
The Old Furniture Book, with a Sketch of Past Days and Ways
Moore, N. Hudson
Furniture
An early and handsome specimen of such a clock is seen in Figure 94.
This clock was made in the latter part of the seventeenth century by
Daniel Quare, the successor of Thomas Tompion. It is a one-year clock
and is at Hampton Court Palace. The dial face is square, and the
top lifts off. The case is very handsomely carved and has some very
handsome figures on the top. The second clock shown in Figure 94 is in
a black and gold lacquered case, and was made by J. Harrison in 1715.
It is at the Guildhall Museum, London. This shows the carved top of the
dial face which became universally adopted. The most important part
of one of these clocks is the pendulum, for the long case was brought
into use solely for the pendulum, as mechanism had not been invented
to permit it to swing in a confined space. The first long-case clocks
were comparatively small in size, and during the reign of William
III., when everything Dutch was in fashion, the cases were ornamented
with marquetry in beautiful patterns and variously coloured woods.
Sometimes this was made even richer by inlay of mother-of-pearl, and
there were cases also of splendid lacquer-work, gold on black grounds,
like that in Figure 94, some of which found their way to America and
are either museum specimens or treasured in private collections. There
are many clocks with English works housed in Dutch cases, but this is
understandable from the fact that so many Dutch cabinet-makers were
settled in London.
Besides the square face to the dial of these early clocks there were
peculiarities of the case as well. On either side of the upper part
of the case there were carved spiral pillars, like those we find in
old chairs of the same period. These were occasionally finished off
by carved or gilt pilasters, and on some choice specimens, notably of
Tompion's clocks, there are pillars at the back also. This style of
pillar was used also in Queen Anne's time. The clocks might stand flat
on the floor or be raised an inch or two on a short foot. The long
doors had mouldings, corresponding to the period of their manufacture,
and many had a piece of glass or a bull's-eye let into the wood, so
that the motion of the pendulum could be seen.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account