Incollect Magazine - Issue 2

Issue 2 90 www.incollect.com pewter stringing to produce a work of extraordinary imagination and artistry. The Hoff clock case is related to a group of inlaid furniture produced in one or more shops in Lancaster County, most likely located in the borough of Lancaster. The group of more than twenty objects consists of schranks, chests, and at least five other clock cases inlaid with sulfur or pewter. One case, dated 1762, houses a clock made by Rudy Stoner (1728–1769), one of Lancaster’s earliest recorded clockmakers, and is the only other clock case attributed to this maker that has inlay on the pendulum door and base in addition to inlay on the hood. Like the Hoff clock case, the inlay consists of molten pewter poured into recesses in the wood and crossbanded lightwood outlined with pewter stringing. 4 The same distinctive geometric design seen on the base of the Hoff clock case is inlaid in sulfur on the lower panels of the doors of two schranks in the group (Fig. 8). To produce the pattern, only a compass set to a single opening is needed. The design on these three objects has been referred to alternatively as a gordian or lover’s knot but is instead a variation of an ancient geometric construction common to cultures around the world. Referred to as the “Seed of Life” or “Flower of Life,” the pattern can be found on countless southeastern Pennsylvania decorative objects, from carved wood butter molds to hexagrams painted on barn sidings. As its name implies, the “Seed of Life” has been used as a symbol of blessing, fertility, and protection. Numerous designs can be generated from the initial hexagram, and the maker of this clock case used it to produce a design of three hourglass shapes with his compass. Before the channel for the inlay was cut on the Fig. 8: Detail of the base panel of the clock and case illustrated in fig. 1. Photo by author.