Table clock 1595 - 1605

Editor: This "Table Clock" from between 1595 and 1605 is really something. The artist is unknown, but the Metropolitan Museum of Art displays it as a stunning example of decorative metalwork. I'm struck by the figure supporting what looks like a celestial sphere. How would you interpret the symbolism at play here? Curator: It's fascinating, isn't it? Beyond the purely decorative, Renaissance clocks often alluded to the macrocosm, that is the universal order, echoed in the microcosm, the human being. What catches my eye is how the figure—seemingly of African origin given the stylistic features—interacts with the very representation of time. Editor: So, the figure isn't just ornamentation? Curator: No, I think that the depiction suggests more than simple exoticism. The figure's engagement with the orb implies participation in the very structure of knowledge and order. Remember the Renaissance was fascinated by the "other" and often tried to assimilate different understandings of the cosmos and incorporate into the understanding the “civilized world”. It speaks of humanity’s relationship to the vastness of the universe. Do you notice the animal at his feet? Editor: Now that you mention it, yes. A dog, maybe a hound. Curator: Loyalty. Fidelity. And consider how the mechanical precision contrasts with the "natural" forms, the animal, the wreath. All carefully curated and displayed. Editor: The contrast between artifice and nature! I hadn't considered that. Thanks, I’ll be thinking about fidelity and "otherness" for quite some time. Curator: Precisely! It all circles back to the clock, a beautiful tool to explore, measure and record Time with capital T. And with that, shapes so much more about us too!