$4,920
Simon Willard Reeded-front Patent Timepiece or "Banjo" Clock, Roxbury, Massachusetts, c. 1810, mahogany case with brass bezel over the slightly convex, 8-in. painted iron roman numeral dial, blued steel barbed hands, reeded frames enclosing reverse-painted glasses, the lower signed in gold leaf S. Willard's Patent with Federal shield pendulum aperture surmounted by an eagle grasping olive branches and arrows, the waist glass flanked by two brass side ornaments decorated with geometric gold crosshatching and stylized moon, both against a salmon ground, eight-day timepiece movement with through bolt attachment to the case, T-bridge pendulum suspension, step train, and recoil escapement all powered by a lead weight and regulated by a pendulum, ht. 30 in. Note: Reeded-front timepieces by Simon or Aaron Willard Jr. are extremely rare, but remain documented examples of Willard casework. For an example by Aaron Willard Jr. also with related painted glasses, please see Paul J. Foley, Willard's Patent Timepieces , p. 51, fig. 110, and p. 189, fig. 453.
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2016-10-28
