199.           $250

Unknown twentieth century banjo.  The case is by an unknown maker but the movement and pendulum are by Elmer Stennes, as confirmed by Robert Hynes.  The 38-inch walnut case has a clean, newer finish, and was likely made in the twentieth century.  There is an upturned acorn finial on top and a similar tail piece. The glasses are twentieth century and not quite professionally painted; there is a marking on the box glass that could be a PK or RK (it is upside down relative to the glass orientation).  The dial glass is flat.  The heavy brass side arms are replacements, as there are pin holes in the case where traditional side arms would have been mounted.  The steel dial is modern and unmarked, and does not appear to be the original dial; the banjo hands are high quality and modern.  The brass plate 8-day, time-only banjo movement is marked ‘5’; Stennes had these movements made for him early on.  It is running without difficulty, driven by a modern cast iron weight that is not typical of Stennes.  It is unmarked.  The keystone steel rod pendulum is stamped ‘S’ at the top of the brass bob, and the lead backing bears an ‘E’ and an upside down ‘S’, all characteristic of Stennes’ early pendulums. There is a metal weight shield and no tie-down.  There are no imprint stamps or markings anywhere on the case that I can find. ChatGPT identified this as an early Stennes clock, based on the movement and pendulum (information provided by my consignor – I do not use AI for clock assessment and am depressed to find out that this is one more thing AI can do).  $250–$750.