Tall Clock (Primary Title)
Christian Forrer, American, born Switzerland, 1737 - 1783 (Clockmaker)
Unknown (Maker)
By the second quarter of the 18th century, immigrant mechanics from Germany, Switzerland, England, and elsewhere had brought European traditions of clockmaking to the American colonies. Settled by Swiss Mennonite farmers in 1710, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, became a center for mechanical arts during the French and Indian war (1754-63). Afterward, local artisans turned to clockmaking. Trained in Switzerland, Christian Lorrer arrived in Lancaster County in 1756 and established a clockmaking shop with his brother Daniel. By 1774, Christian was the sole proprietor of the firm.
In this example, Forrer’s brass, iron, and pewter eight-day movement is housed in a three-part case: the hood, visually supported by four free-standing columns, boasts an arabesque frieze beneath a swan-neck pediment crowned with flame-and-acorn finials; the waist, topped by a cove molding, is centered by an arched door flanked by quarter columns; and the base bears an applied serpentine panel above ogee-bracket feet. The cabinet is a signature example of the region’s vigorous rococo style.
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