Collection Highlights
Shrewsbury River, New Jersey
Date:
1859
Object Number:
S-229
Medium:
Oil on canvas
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Museum Collections
Luce Center
Clock reel
Object Number:
1933.236
Date:
1750-1800
Medium:
Wood
Dimensions:
Overall (approx.): 42 x 28 x 21 in. (106.7 x 71.1 x 53.3 cm)
Description:
Wooden clock reel with four arms joined to turned horizontal shaft with supported between two posts, with wooden disk with sawtooth edge mounted below threaded section at center of shaft; entire apparatus mounted on top of rectangular plank raised on three splayed rounded legs.
Gallery Label:
A clock reel had either four or six arms around which a length of yarn was wound in order to measure it. If the distance around the arms measured 2 yards, then forty turns of the device would yield a "knot" (a length of 80 yards). A skein (560 yards) was the equivalent of 7 knots. According to the accession records, this example was brought to New England from Scotland.
Credit Line:
Gift of DeWitt M. Lockman
Due to ongoing research, information about this object is subject to change.
