Tall case clock

Movement - Peter Stretch American

1743–44

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 751

In the 1500s, scientific advances and interest in astronomy led to the more precise measurement of time and the rapid growth of the clockmaking industry in the 1600s. Increasingly, consumers sought out time-telling devices, navigational instruments, and surveying equipment. The Stretch clock illustrates the migration of new technologies into the North American colonies and the adaptation of the more accurate mechanical engineering, like a seconds-beating pendulum and anchor recoil escapement. Clocks were made not only to keep time but to entertain and impress. The towering mahogany case with ornamental carving would have been highly desirable by period standards.

Artwork Details

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Provenance

Title: Tall case clock
Maker: Movement - Peter Stretch (American, 1670–1746)
Maker: Movement - Emanuel Rouse (ca. 1725–after 1777)
Date: 1743–44
Geography: (none assigned) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Culture: American
Medium: Mahogany, pine; brass, steel, iron, bronze, silver, glass
Dimensions: 110 in. × 21 1/4 in. × 9 5/8 in. (279.4 × 54 × 24.4 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of Frank Hohmann III, and Purchase, Sansbury-Mills and Richard Hampton Jenrette American Funds, 2023
Object Number: 2023.303a–f
Curatorial Department: The American Wing

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Tall Clock, Peter Stretch American, Walnut, tulip poplar, American — Tall Clock
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