Mantel Clock

Maker Edward F. Caldwell & Company (1895 - 1959)

Date1917

Mediummarble, bronze, gilding

DimensionsOverall: 19 1/4 × 19 1/2 × 8 in. (48.9 × 49.5 × 20.3 cm)

Credit LineReynolda Estate

CopyrightPublic Domain

Object number1922.5.1

DescriptionThe mantle clock is a large white marble disk with gilded Roman numerals displayed within finely beaded frames. The gilded filigree metal hands are attached to the interior clockworks through a central cast and gilded metal plate with foliate ornament revealing three faces. The clock is supported by two bronze Blackamoors having gilded loin wraps and kneeling on large gilded and tasseled pillows. The clock and attendant figures are displayed on and attached to a white marble plinth held in a molded gilt-bronze frame with leaf ornaments at each corner.

The term “blackamoor” refers to figures of black Africans, usually male, depicted as servants in jewelry, sculpture, armorial designs, and decorative arts, often bearing precious materials.
ProvenanceFrom 1964
Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Winston-Salem, NC, acquired in 1964. [1]

Notes:
[1] In the early 1960s Charles H. Babcock (1899-1967) gave the house and its contents to the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation. The house was then incorporated as a museum and collection (Reynolda House, Inc.) on December 18, 1964 with the signing of the charter at its first board meeting. The museum first opened to the public in September 1965.

Status

Not on view