Very Rare Chippendale Carved and Figured Mahogany Tall-Case Clock, carving attributed to the 'Garvan carver', musical works possibly by Moellinger, case from Philadelphia, works from Holland, circa 1770

numbered 2307, works probably associated, finials and cartouche replaced.

Henry Ford Museum, Greenfield, Michigan;
Sotheby's, New York, Fine Americana, January 25, 1992, sale 6269, lot 1069.

William H. Distin and Robert Bishop, The American Clock: A Comprehensive Pictorial Survey 1723-1900, (New York: E.P. Dutton & Company, Inc., 1976), p. 44, fig. 70;
George Parker, “Early American Furniture in Wisconsin,” Wisconsin Academy Review,  43: 2 (Spring 1997), 9.

Backboard modified for musical works, finials and cartouche replaced, finial plinths replaced, molding at top of central plinth replaced, feet replaced. One glueblock replaced. With red accession # 00.3.8929 and an embossed metal plaque inscribed F-205.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This clock exhibits a case made in Philadelphia with carving attributed to the Garvan carver, one of Philadelphia’s most prolific and talented eighteenth century carvers. It is one of a small group of clocks with closely related carving by the Garvan carver identified by Alan Miller, the leading scholar on the artisanship of this carver. Included in this group is the John Bringhurst tall-case clock with works by Jacob Godshalk that sold in these rooms, Highly Important Americana from the Stanley Paul Sax Collection, January 16-17, 1998, sale 7087, lot 519, a clock in a private collection formerly owned by the pioneer Philadelphia collector Bob Stuart, and a fourth clock illustrated by Israel Sack Inc. in American Antiques from Israel Sack Collection, Vol. VIII, P5594, pp. 2190-1.

In the catalogue entry for the Bringhurst clock mentioned above, it is noted that Miller did an investigation of the clock in 1993 in order to provide appropriate restoration. Miller described in his extensive analysis how similar the cases in this group are and how collectively they “show his youthful style in which he often worked to existing patterns but was beginning to assert his design identity.” Two of the cases date slightly earlier, including the present example and the one from the Stuart collection. The other two clocks have cases with carved shells in their waist doors and small appliques next to their brass waist capitals. Miller continued: “The restorations done by this shop can not be considered conjectural. All four of these cases have scrollboard appliques of the same design. A case carved by the same carver some years after this group and housing a movement by the great Philadelphia clockmaker John Wood has a more rendered applique with identical design elements except for the center shell. The outlines of the six missing portions can be seen on the scrollboard and these outlines exactly correspond with the same elements on the other appliques.”

The case is fitted on the side of the bonnet with large viewing windows, which allow for the turning barrel to be viewed as the clock plays its tunes. It houses a musical movement that is associated and possibly the work of the Moellinger family of musical clockmakers of Neustadt/Winstr, Mannheim, Frankenthal and Berlin. The patriarch of the family was Jacob Moellinger (1695-1763) of Neustadt. His son, Friedrich Moellinger (1725-1767), was a famous clockmaker working in Mannheim, Germany. He was born at Neustadt on the Haardt River near Mannheim about 1725 and became Court Clockmaker to the Prince Elector of the Palatinate named Carl Theodor in 1749. He moved to Mannheim in 1751 and continued to work there until his death on June 31, 1767. His younger step-brother, Christian (1754-1826), manufactured astronomical, musical and organ playing clocks in Berlin, where he served a Court Clockmaker to the Prussian kings Frederick the Great and Frederick William II. By 1794, the clockmaker Henry Moellinger (b. 1762) was working in America. He was born in Mannheim in 1762 and apprenticed to a clockmaker in Eberbrach before emigrating to Philadelphia in 1794. He appears listed in the city directory for that year at 118 Sassafras Street and moved to 1 North Third Street in 1804.

For a tall-case clock with associated works by Friedrich Moellinger, see one housed in a New York case with a history in the family of James Beekman (1732-1807) of New York. It was sold in these rooms, Important Americana, January 21-22, 2000, sale 7420, lot 717.