Objects

Bracket Clock
ca. 1695 (see below)
John Ebsworth (marked)
England: London
Wood, brass, steel, glass
overall: 22"h x 16-1/2"w x 8-1/2"d
Gift of Mrs. Willis R. Michael
82.53.6a-d

Bracket Clock; a: Dutch style case with twisted ebony columns; rosewood "oyster" walnut veneer, ogee coffer, turned ball feet; gilt brass matted dial plate, pierced glued steel hands; cast brass cherub spandrels; date aperture above center arbor; center of dial plate engraved with Tudor rose; two winding arbors goind and striking trains; strike/ no strike lever at top of dial; Roman hours, gilt chapter ring; Arabic movement; movement: spring driven fusee; anchor escape; repeat hour and quarter hour strike; back plate foliate engraved, inscribed "John Ebsworth/ Londini Fecit"; b: pendulum; c: removable top; d: door key


Not everything that clock enthusiast and collector Willis Michael (1894-1969) owned is exactly what it appears to be. This clock, marked on the face with the name “John Ebsworth,” is likely composed of new and old movements and wooden parts. It was assembled to look like an antique bracket clock, a type of clock originally made in the late 1600s or 1700s. The assembler added a historic clockmaker’s name to the face. He did so with the intent of deceiving a potential buyer into thinking the clock was a centuries-old antique.