TALL CASE CLOCK
Winchester, Virginia
Works attributed to Goldsmith Chandlee
(w. 1778-1821)
Maple, yellow pine, walnut
Circa 1790-1800
H: 95”; W: 23”; D: 12 ½”
The case design for this clock is part of a larger group of cases from an as yet unidentified Winchester shop. The most distinctive feature is the three- part case construction. Nearly identical decorative features span the group as well. Examples at Colonial Williamsburg, also in maple and several documented by MESDA form the group. (Southern Furniture, catalog # 170; MESDA NN-1884; S-11189).
The decoration of the clock face is closely related to that on a signed Goldsmith Chandlee clock in the Glen Burnie collection at the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley. The virtually identical bird motifs suggest that they may have been included in the same consignment to this well- known Winchester clock maker. As is the case with the Glen Burnie clock and the Colonial Williamsburg examples, the false plate is marked “Osborne’s/MANUFACTORY/BIRMINGHAM”
