Tall Case Clock

Artist/Maker
Mattison, James __Case by ||Thomas, Seth __Clockworks by
Place Made
Anderson County South Carolina United States of America
Date Made
1815-1825
Medium
poplar
Accession Number
5866
Description
DESCRIPTION: Tall case clock with scroll pediment; urn finials; course of reeding below cornice and at waist; small paneled door; bracket feet.

MAKER: This clock is the Rosetta Stone for a large and important group of upcountry South Carolina furniture that was previously referred to as the “reeded raised panel group.” The discovery of this clock in 2015 and subsequent research by Dale Couch and Keith McCurry has firmly connected this clock, and the larger furniture group, to James Mattison and the extended Mattison family of cabinetmakers. James Mattison was a Virginia-born cabinetmaker who came to upcountry South Carolina in the early 19th century. The clock is signed twice on its works by William H. Mattison, the cabinetmaker’s grandson.

This clock is also a great example of how 30-hour wooden clockworks by Seth Thomas of Connecticut were sold and marketed throughout the southern United States beginning in the 1810s.

History
This clock was first owned by the family of James Mattison (1762-1849) in Anderson County, South Carolina.
Credit Line
MESDA Purchase Fund