Watch 1797 - 1798

Editor: Here we have a metal pocket watch from around 1797-1798. It strikes me as such a contained and meticulously crafted object, particularly given our current, very different relationship to time. How do you interpret its significance? Curator: Well, situated in its historical moment, a watch wasn't just about telling time. It was a potent symbol of control, both personal and societal. Who had access to such technology? What did it mean to quantify time in an era grappling with emerging industrial capitalism and its impact on labor? Editor: So, more about power dynamics than punctuality? Curator: Precisely. Consider the Baroque detailing – ornamentation that spoke to wealth and status. Whose time was valued, and whose was exploited to create such an object of luxury? Editor: It is hard to ignore how time pieces become social statements based on design or status. Curator: It invites a critical dialogue. How does access to, or control of, time create further social inequity? The watch then becomes a symbol of larger systemic power imbalances. What do you make of the watch being made of gold, a valuable metal? Editor: Well, you see that throughout history when societies or persons are looking to immortalize something or remember something, that gold has significant use. Also to denote power as you mentioned previously. Curator: I would push us to really interrogate these decorative art objects for the encoded meanings that relate to the intersectional relationships surrounding race, identity, gender and class. Thanks for letting me explore this object with you. Editor: And thank you for widening my view; seeing it as more than just a timepiece is definitely food for thought.