Automaton clock
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A clock composed of a revolving globe supported on stylized tree trunk beside a black man who points to the hour with a spear. A cockerel lies at his feet. The figure stands on a pierced drum with a spreading base and three bun feet.
Commentary
Other exhibition labels
- This clock is also an automaton. The clock movement is housed in the base, and the globe rotates to display the time. When the hour strikes, the man's head turns and the cockerel pecks at the ground. Numerous versions of this clock survive, including in the British Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and most were made in Augsburg.
Physical description
Dimensions (mm) / weight (mg)
305 x 146 diam
History
Provenance
- Acquired by Alice de Rothschild (b.1847, d.1922); inherited by her great-nephew James de Rothschild (b.1878, d.1957); accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1990.
Collection
- Waddesdon (National Trust)
- Accepted by HM Government in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the National Trust for display at Waddesdon Manor, 1990
Bibliography
Bibliography
- Geoffrey de Bellaigue, Anthony Blunt; Furniture Clocks and Gilt Bronzes: The James A de Rothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor; 2 vols; Fribourg; Office du Livre; 1974; pp. 156-157; cat. 31
Related files
- Entry from (Bellaigue, 1974):, http://api.waddesdon.org.uk/docs/furniture/2500.pdf