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Table Clock with Astronomical and Calendrical Dials

David Weber

The Frick Collection

The Frick Collection
New York City, United States

Most likely made for his admission to the Augsburg clockmakers guild, this impressive table clock exemplifies David Weber’s great expertise. The complex mechanism includes seven dials that provide astronomical, calendrical, and horary information. The prominent central dial on the front—an astronomical device called an astrolabe—features twenty-one star pointers and two concentric hands that correspond to the sun and moon. The smaller dial beneath it is an alarm. Although Weber chose the popular tower form for the clock’s case, he demonstrated his skill and inventiveness in its finely worked surfaces. His silver and brass floral arrangements and figures exhibit brilliant chasing (a technique in which the malleable metal is pushed inward to create tiny grooves for texture) and repoussé (hammering the metal from the reverse side in order to create a design in relief).

Source: Vignon, Charlotte. The Frick Collection Decorative Arts Handbook. New York: The Frick Collection/Scala, 2015.

Details

  • Title: Table Clock with Astronomical and Calendrical Dials
  • Creator: David Weber
  • Date Created: probably 1653
  • Physical Dimensions: 23 3/8 x 10 1/16 x 9 7/8 in. (59.4 x 25.5 x 25.1 cm)
  • External Link: See more on The Frick Collection website
  • Medium: Gilt brass and silver
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Winthrop Kellogg Edey, 1999

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