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Tall Clock

1805–10
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 719
Over nine-feet-tall, this majestic clock is among the finest and most aesthetically significant examples produced in North America during the Federal period (1790–1825). The manufacture of such pieces was a joint venture between the clockmaker, the cabinetmaker whom he employed to furnish the case, and the patron. In this instance we are able to identify with precision only the man responsible for the works, James Doull of Charlestown, Massachusetts, whose name is painted on the appropriately oversized thirteen-inch dial. The brilliantly veneered and inlaid case, although unsigned, is quite likely by Thomas Seymour (1771–1848) of Boston, whose signature-style lunette inlays of shaded maple border the door and the lower part of the case; they are also used to face the plinths below the brass finials and the reeded and richly carved, engaged quarter columns of curled maple. The clock dial depicts charmingly naive versions of the personifications of the four seasons—standard motifs on imported English painted dials of the period—and a portrait in the tympanum of a young girl in an idealized landscape. These images may be by John Penniman (active 1806–28), an artist documented as having decorated dials for the renowned Willard family of clockmakers in nearby Roxbury and Grafton.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Tall Clock
  • Maker: Case attributed to Thomas Seymour (1771–1848)
  • Maker: Possibly with John Seymour (active ca. 1794–1816)
  • Maker: Works signed James Doull
  • Decorator: Dial possibly painted by John Ritto Penniman (American, Milford, Massachusetts 1782–1841 Baltimore, Maryland)
  • Date: 1805–10
  • Geography: Made in New England, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Mahogany, mahogany veneer,
    maple with white pine
  • Dimensions: 111 3/4 x 21 1/4 x 9 3/4 in. (283.8 x 54 x 24.8 cm)
  • Credit Line: Purchase, Anthony W. and Lulu C. Wang Gift, 1998
  • Object Number: 1998.12
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Desk and Bookcase, Thomas Seymour American, Maple, mahogany, oak, white pine, American
Desk and Bookcase
Thomas Seymour
1800–1805
Side Chair, Thomas Seymour American, Mahogany, birch veneer, birch, tulip poplar, American
Side Chair
Thomas Seymour
1805–10
Dressing glass, Thomas Seymour American, Mahogany, mahogany and birch veneers, and glass with white pine, American
Dressing glass
Thomas Seymour
1810–15
Sideboard Table, Thomas Seymour American, Primary: mahogany,mahogany and curly maple veneers, birch, holly (arch inlay) Causurina (she-oak) all light wood veneers and inlay, Sabicu (side veneer): secondary: soft maple (sides and sub-top), white pine (tops to end sections, backboard, drawer bottoms) cherry (drawer sides and back)., American
Sideboard Table
Thomas Seymour
1805–10
Bedstead, Thomas Seymour American, Mahogany, mahogany veneer, mahoganized maple and white pine, painted and gilded wood, American
Bedstead
Multiple artists/makers
1810–15

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