The Lieutenant Jonathan Bradley Very Fine and Rare Chippendale Block and Shell-Carved and Figured Mahogany Tall Case Clock, Providence, Rhode Island, circa 1790

Retains its original finials and a dark old surface.

According to family tradition, this clock descended through the following family lines:
Lieutenant Jonathan Bradley (b. February 14, 1744-5 in Haverhill / d. February 22, 1818 in Andover, Massachusetts), who married Sally Ayer of Plaistow, New Hampshire (second wife) on April 14, 1791. He served in Massachusetts as Second Lieutenant in the Fourth Essex County Regiment under Captain Stephen Webster;
To their son, Charles Bradley (b. December 17, 1792 in North Andover / d. October 14, ? in Portland Maine), a Boston merchant who married Sarah Smith of Haverhill, daughter of Jonathan Smith and granddaughter of Hezekiah Smith, the Revolutionary War chaplain and fellow of Brown University;
To their son, Hon. Charles Smith Bradley (b. July 18, 1819) of Providence, a graduate of Brown University (1834-1838) who married Sarah Manton (b. March 10, 1818 in Providence / d. December 12, 1854), daughter of Joseph and Mary (Whipple) Manton. Judge Bradley studied law at Harvard and was admitted to the bar in 1841. He was a partner of Charles Tillinghast in Providence and served in the State Senate before being appointed Chief Justice of the State Supreme Court of Rhode Island;
To their son, Charles Bradley (b. May 6, 1845 in Providence / d. November 9, 1898 in Providence), a graduate of Williams College and lawyer in the practice of Bradley & Metcalf in Providence. He married Jane Whitman Bailey (b. July 13, 1849 in North Providence), the daughter of William Mason Bailey and Harriet Brown, on October 31, 1876;
To their daughter, Mary Emerson Bradley (Porter) (b. June 18, 1884 in Lincoln, Rhode Island) of Providence who married Emery Moulton Porter, the son of Dr. George Whipple Porter and Emma Hoyt, on June 26, 1907 in Smithfield, Rhode Island;
Thence by descent in the family;
Leigh Keno American Antiques, New York.

patch to fretwork
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This extraordinary tall case clock displays the Providence school characteristics of finials with cup-shaped urns and short flames, fluted colonnettes with double bulbous turnings at the capitals and base, relief-carved convex shells, complex moldings, and distinctive, cyma bracket feet with a torus drop.¹  The boldly blocked door panel features a shell carved from the solid within a half-round perimeter relieved at the termination of each flute. Typical of Providence tall-case clocks, this one is proportionally shorter and wider than Newport examples. It descended in the Bradley family of Massachusetts and Providence until a family member sold it in 2003.

Similar cases are found on several tall-case clocks with movements made by Edward Spalding (1732-1785) of Providence. Two illustrated by Wendy Cooper and Tara Gleason in "A Different Rhode Island Block-and-Shell Story: Providence Provenances and Pitch-Pediments" are associated with the work of Grindal Rawson (1719-1803), based on shared similarities with a high chest of drawers linked to his shop.²  Two additional clocks attributed by Cooper and Gleason to the same school include one originally owned by Jabez Bowen (1739-1815) with a movement by George Sommersall (w. 1753-1773) of London and one with a movement by Seril Dodge (1759-1802) of Providence.³ A related case is known on another tall-case clock with a brass movement made by Edward Spalding in 1753 that sold in these rooms, Important Americana, January 18-19, 2001, sale 7590, lot 762.

¹ Wendy A. Cooper and Tara L. Gleason, "A Different Rhode Island Block-and-Shell Story: Providence Provenances and Pitch-Pediments," American Furniture 1999, p. 185.
² See ibid, fig. 32 and 33 for the clocks and fig. 29 for the high chest.
³ See ibid, figs. 10 and 11.