Automaton Clock with an Elephant in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, February 2020

Automaton Clock in the Form of an Elephant
1600–1610


Object Details

Title: Automaton Clock in the Form of an Elephant

Date: 1600–1610

Culture: German, Augsburg

Medium: Metal (gilded), bronze (silvered), copper, steel, enamel,
wood (ebonized), glass, paint

Dimensions: 11 × 4 × 7 1/2 in. (27.9 × 10.2 × 19.1 cm)

Classification: Horology

Credit Line: Loyola University Museum of Art, Chicago, Gift of Mrs. Thomas Stamm with deep appreciation and affection in recognition of Rev. John J. Piderit, S.J., 22nd President, Loyola University Chicago, Martin D’Arcy, S.J., Collection

The mahout (elephant keeper), the turbaned Ottoman warriors, and the crowning crescent all allude to the Eastern origins of the elephant. Within the Kunstkammer the elephant represented rulership. This automaton clock, which strikes at both the quarter hour and the hour, is driven by a movement connected to a wheel mounted on the walkway of the howdah (saddle). On the hour, the four Muslim warriors revolve around the brickwork tower. The mahout thumps his arm up and down, as though he were leading the animal, and his counterweighted eyes move back and forth as the machine travels. Visit the Making Marvels page at The Met’s website to see a video of this piece in motion.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/815777