Muhammad V's candle clock

The candle clock of which Ibn al-Jatib speaks to us, was in the Nasrid court of Granada during the celebration of a feast. It had the shape of a dodecagon, and on each side was a niche in the shape of a mihrab, with a window held by a bolt. Beneath the window was a metal tray. At the top was a candle divided into 12 parts, one corresponding to each hour. In each division there was a thread of linen, attached at the other end to one of the latches of the windows. When the candle burns and one of the twelve intervals burns, the linen thread was burned, causing the latch to jump. As the the latch jumps, a small ball is dropped into the tray, making a sound showing that an hour had passed. Likewise a leaf falls on which had been written a verse.