Banjo clock

The banjo clock, or banjo timepiece, is an American wallclock with a banjo-shaped case. It was invented by Simon Willard, originally of Grafton, Massachusetts, later of Roxbury, Massachusetts, and patented in 1802. The banjo clock normally lacks a striking mechanism and indicates time only by its hands and dial, so some horologists call it a timepiece rather than a true clock. In popular usage though, no such distinction is made.