Shelf Clock 1805 - 1809

This wooden Shelf Clock was made by Aaron Willard, a clockmaker active in Massachusetts during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The clock is adorned with finials – decorative elements that crown the top. These are not mere decorations; they are vestigial symbols. Consider how similar forms appear on reliquaries and cathedrals. The finial, in its upward thrust, echoes the aspiration towards the divine, a motif that persists through centuries, evolving from sacred architecture to adornments of domestic life. It mirrors the human desire to reach beyond the mundane. The clock, therefore, is more than a device to measure time; it is a symbol laden with cultural memory, transformed and domesticated. It quietly reminds us of our ceaseless quest for meaning. In this way, the past is subtly embedded in our present.