AFA Autumn 2021

2021 Antiques & Fine Art 75 The John Whorf Tall Case Clock, Simon Willard; dial painted by Spencer Nolan; cabinet work, possibly by Davenport. Boston, Massachusetts, circa 1817. Mahogany, mahogany veneer, white pine, light- and dark-wood inlay. 92 x 20 19⅞ in. New England Historic Genealogical Society purchase, 2017 (2017-021). The Whorf clock was made in the shop of Simon Willard, a well- known craftsman and the leading clockmaker of his generation in the Boston area. The case of this specimen is signed in chalk “Davenport March 1817,” possibly a reference to the cabinetmaker who fashioned it. The dial is attributed to the ornamental painter Spencer Nolan (1784–1849), whose neoclassical gilt and polychrome decorations add to the clock’s majestic appearance. The dial is inscribed “WARRANTED/BY S. WILLARD/for Mr. John Whorf.” John Whorf (1785–1854) of Provincetown, Massachusetts, was the owner of a prosperous cod-fishing business. The clock descended to his son Thomas (1815–1887), and eventually to his grandson, Philip A. Whorf (1841–1916), who gave it to the New England Historic Genealogical Society. The bequest is recorded on an engraved silver plaque attached to the front of the case. In 1982, NEHGS deaccessioned the clock to a dealer, and it eventually found its way into a private New York collection. Fortunately, it reappeared at a Sotheby’s auction in January 2017, where it was reacquired for NEHGS, as the gift of an anonymous donor.

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