Table Clock Cases, in Chippendale Drawings, Vol. I

Art Historical Context

Step into the elegant world of 18th-century British design with *Table Clock Cases* from Thomas Chippendale's *ings, Vol. I* (1754). This drawing, rendered in black ink and gray on a modest 8 5/16 x 6 15/16-inch sheet, showcases ornate case designs for table clocks—elegant furnishings that blended utility with opulent decoration. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, it exemplifies Chippendale's mastery in the Ornament & Architecture classification. Thomas Chippendale, the preeminent English furniture designer of his era, revolutionized interiors through h...

About the Artist

Thomas Chippendale · 1718–1779

Thomas Chippendale, baptized on June 5, 1718, in Otley, Yorkshire, was born into a family steeped in woodworking traditions, the only child of joiner John Chippendale and Mary Drake. His father likely provided his initial hands-on training in cabinetmaking, supplemented by time in the workshop of York joiner Richard Wood, before Chippendale relocated to London around 1749. He married Catherine Red...