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Longcase clock by Pehr Strand, Sweden, 1791–1815 — view 1 of 1
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Clocks · Longcase clock

Longcase clock by Pehr Strand, Sweden, 1791–1815

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.
Maker / attribution
Pehr Strand (Maker)
Date
1791–1815
Country of origin
Sweden
Place
Sverige Stockholm Stockholm Stockholm
Object type
Longcase clock
Materials / technique
Målning Trä
Holding institution
Nordic Museum Foundation
Accession / object no.
NM.0115625*2
Credit line
Nordic Museum Foundation
Catalogue title (original)
Golvur (Swedish)

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Record summary

Held and catalogued by Nordic Museum Foundation (object number NM.0115625*2), this is a longcase clock by Pehr Strand, made in Sverige Stockholm Stockholm Stockholm, Sweden, dated 1791–1815. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: Målning Trä. The record is illustrated with 1 photograph.

Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.

Catalogue description

Catalogue description from Nordic Museum Foundation

Huvudliggaren: "Golvur från 1700-talets slut. Tillverkat av Petter Strand, Stockholm. Stort, målat i vitt och ljusblått med förgyllda ornament och lister. Gåva 20/9 1910 kommersråd Fredik von Rettig." Utställningstext författad av Anna Womack 2009: "Golvur med spelverk, omkring 1800. Spelverket är tillverkat vid Per (Petter) Strands musikaliska urfabrik i Stockholm, verksam 1791-1815. Verkstaden byggde huvudsakligen kyrkorglar, men tillverkade även små piporglar till spelur. Dessa var utrustade med bälg och pipor och med hjälp av valsar spelade de kortare musikstycken på bestämda klockslag. Utmärkande för Per Strands spelur kring år 1800 är de stora, stramt gustavianska fodralen liksom sättet att kombinera en rikt träskuren dekor med släta ytor. Den skurna dekoren möjligen av ornamentbildhuggaren Per Ljung i Stockholm." Spelverket innehåller: 1 stiftvals i instrumentet 2 register av trä med fler än 28 toner i varje (svårt att se ordentligt) avläsare med 31 tangenter stiftvals diameter: ca 158 mm stiftvals längd: ca 405 mm Enligt Dan Johansson, Musikmuseet, 2010-10-19

Shown in the original language of the source catalogue. An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.

Historical context

Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)

Harrison solves longitude; Mudge invents the lever; Breguet's Paris workshop defines the modern watch.

The age of the deadbeat escapement, compensated pendulums and observatory regulators. Domestic clocks spread through the middle classes: English longcase and bracket clocks, French gilt-bronze mantel clocks, Viennese Biedermeier wall clocks, Black Forest painted-shield clocks, and the first American shelf clocks.

Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Early Modern Horology

Atlas type guide

Longcase (tall-case or grandfather) clocks

The longcase clock was born from two seventeenth-century innovations: Christiaan Huygens's pendulum (1656–57) and the anchor escapement (c. 1670). A long seconds pendulum, nearly a metre long, swings with a small arc, and enclosing it together with the driving weights in a tall wooden case protected the mechanism and created a new piece of furniture. London makers such as Ahasuerus Fromanteel, Thomas Tompion and Joseph Knibb set the pattern.

By the eighteenth century longcase clocks were made throughout Britain, the Netherlands, Scandinavia (the Swedish Mora clock), France (the Comtoise from the Franche-Comté), Germany and colonial America. Eight-day movements with two weights became standard in better clocks; thirty-hour clocks with one weight and a rope or chain were cheaper alternatives.

What to look for

  • Winding holes in the dial: two (eight-day, going and striking) or none (thirty-hour, pulled up by a chain).
  • Brass dials with applied chapter rings (earlier) versus painted iron 'white' dials (after c. 1770 in Britain).
  • Moon-phase arches, date apertures, seconds dials and maker's name on the dial.
  • Case woods and style: ebonised, walnut marquetry, lacquer, oak or mahogany; regional styles from London, Lancashire, Scotland or America.
  • Whether the movement and dial match the case — 'marriages' are common.

Dating clues

  • Square brass dials suggest c. 1670–1720; arched brass dials c. 1715–1790.
  • Painted (white) dials were made by Birmingham dial-makers from about 1772.
  • Comtoise clocks with repoussé pendulums are mostly nineteenth century.

General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.

Read next:Anchor (recoil) escapementDeadbeat escapementAnchor escapement

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