The Art of the White Dial
Antique Tall Case clocks
Clocks, from their earliest conception, have always mixed art with the utility of timekeeping. During the earliest years of clockmaking, only the nobility could afford them. In fact, there was often a royal clockmaker on staff. It would not have been unusual to see clocks with cases made of precious metals and adorned with fine jewels, in fact, it was probably the norm. Eventually, clockmaking began to move outside of royal circles and spread to the upper class. The clocks were still made individually, one at a time, and therefore remained relatively expensive. Often, the clock of choice, for those who could afford them, was a “tall-case” clock, what we commonly refer to now as a “Grandfather Clock”. These tall-case clocks were most often, what we would call a “pinched waist” style, meaning they were thinner in the middle and wider at the top and bottom. (See photo at left of an American Federal mahogany tall case clock with swan neck pediment and finial with white painted dial.)
All the dials below are photographs of clocks we have worked on personally.
Introduction to White Dials
Brass dial Clocks
The earliest tall case clocks often had heavy brass dials with silvered chapter rings. The brass dials were made from many individual parts such as a chapter ring, corner spandrels, seconds bits, calendar dials and a name boss that were attached to the main dial sheet. This made them very labor intensive and expensive to produce. (See photo of brass dial left.) The typical clock works found behind the dial was a cable driven, eight-day, time and strike movement which would strike the hours on a bell. Modern clockmakers often refer to these as “antique bell strikers”. (See photo on right.)
1770
The Birth of the “White Dial” Clock
White dial clocks are much more common than their older brothers with the heavy brass dials. They were produced in large numbers, both in Britain and America, for about 100 years beginning in 1770. We do not know for certain why there was a transition from the heavy brass dials to the less labor-intensive white dials. Some argue that the transition was simply due to changing fashions and others say the transition was to lower the overall cost of the clock in order to attract a larger consumer base. Unless a moon dial was present, these dials were often made from a single piece of iron, unlike the multiple pieces of brass required to make up a brass dial. Instead of fine engraving and the contrast between brass and silver this new dial achieved its beauty and desirability from the hand painted decorations, featuring a wide variety of subject matter. (See a dial in the slide show below that has a painting of two drunks on the upper arch!) For the most part, each dial was its own “work of art”. With very few exceptions, you would never see the same dial with the same artwork on it. The chapter rings, numbers, and minute markings may be the same but the painting in the arch and in the corners would almost always be unique. Since almost all case clocks were “made to order”, it makes perfect sense that a customer might ask the clockmaker for specific themes on their dial.
An Example of a Scottish White Dial
The Scottish white dial below has the title “Lady of the Lake” written in the lower left corner of the upper most arch dial section and the four corners contain representations of the four seasons, a not uncommon theme. The following three dials are likely all Scottish, which were often very colorful.
Spring
Winter
Summer
Autumn
Another Scottish White Dial
It is very likely that the corner paintings on this dial also represent the four seasons.
Another Scottish White dial
This dial features the four countries of the United Kingdom: England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. The painting in the arch is titled “Peace and Plenty”
England
Scotland
Ireland
Wales
Peace & Plenty
White dial with a Moon Dial
During the new moon phase, almost no moon is showing at all inside the moon dial arch. for this reason, there is typically something there to take up the blank space. Traditionally, the paintings visible during the new moon feature a seascape on one side and a landscape on the other. This moon dial is a bit more unusual since it features a country home and a cow.
for more information and a thorough look at moon dials visit our “How to Set a Moon dial page”
Additional White Dials Slide Show
