Clock watch

Michael Nouwen, or Nouen

ca. 1600–1610 · Case: gilded brass; Dial: gilded brass with a blued steel hand; Movement: gilded brass and iron · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Nouwen was a member of a Flemish family of clockmakers that originated in ’s-Hertogenbosch in Brabant, now a part of The Netherlands. Like the Vallins, he was probably a refugee from political and religious strife. The front plate of Nouwen’s movement is split in two, an unusual feature that makes it possible to remove the wheels of one train of the watch without disturbing the wheels of the other. These clock watches also typically have pierced cases so one could hear the striking of the bell, which is attached to the inside of the case. The intricate piercing and engraving of the metalwork makes this watch as much a piece of jewelry or a display piece as it is a timekeeper. Watches of the period, though nearly always technically cutting-edge, were far from accurate and lacked a minute hand. The female figure in the center of the dial, reminiscent of Flemish personifications of Summer, wears a crown of grain stalks and carries a cornucopia in her right arm.

Artist

Michael Nouwen, or Nouen

Date

ca. 1600–1610

Medium

Case: gilded brass; Dial: gilded brass with a blued steel hand; Movement: gilded brass and iron

Culture

British, London

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917