Portable Drum Watch

The raised dots, called "touch pieces," that are above the Roman numerals functioned much like Braille does today, allowing a blind person to read the time. A sighted owner could also use the touch pieces to check the time in the dark. The internal watch mechanism, the "movement," is made completely from iron, as was typical from the early to mid-16th century. Later, brass and steel parts were increasingly used. The mechanism in Melanchthon's watch from 1530 (Walters 58.17) is similar, though it also has an alarm mechanism. The movement of this watch is stamped with a "C," a reference to its maker, and a pinecone, identifying it as having been made in Augsburg. It is not clear whether the first watches were drum-shaped or ball-shaped.

Inscription

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.

George Robinson Harding, London [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1921 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.