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Source Description
The case of this intriguing timepiece with its rock crystal cylinder resembles a medieval reliquary. The tiny haloed female figure with hands raised in prayer at the top is Ecclesia (the Catholic Church) accompanied by personifications of Faith (with the Old Testament tablets of the Law and New Testament chalice), Hope (anchor), and Charity (two infants). The timekeeping mechanism is not attached to the case- and appears to have been altered to fit it- so it is possible that the case was made as a reliquary into which the mechanism was fitted. The tiny dial was probably rarely looked at, as every hour was struck on the bell. The mechanism is divided into three tiers: the "going train" makes time advance (upper), the striking train strikes the hours (middle), and the bottom train sets off the alarm.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
22505
label
Alarm Clock in a Reliquary-Like Case
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
22505
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Alarm Clock in a Reliquary-Like Case
description
The case of this intriguing timepiece with its rock crystal cylinder resembles a medieval reliquary. The tiny haloed female figure with hands raised in prayer at the top is Ecclesia (the Catholic Church) accompanied by personifications of Faith (with the Old Testament tablets of the Law and New Testament chalice), Hope (anchor), and Charity (two infants). The timekeeping mechanism is not attached to the case- and appears to have been altered to fit it- so it is possible that the case was made as a reliquary into which the mechanism was fitted. The tiny dial was probably rarely looked at, as every hour was struck on the bell. The mechanism is divided into three tiers: the "going train" makes time advance (upper), the striking train strikes the hours (middle), and the bottom train sets off the alarm.
provenance
Harding, New York; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1930 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
ca. 1650? (Baroque)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
clocks
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
22.7
height
10
depth
10
dimensionsRaw
H: 8 15/16 × W: 3 15/16 × D: 3 15/16 in. (22.7 × 10 × 10 cm)
Source extras
med
partially gilded silver, gold, silver, rubies, enamel, rock crystal, and glass case; gilded brass, steel, and bell metal movement
creator_ids
6229
collection_ids
BAR
exhibition_ids
2672
2924
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
f46b20e9138c4f3e