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Portable Drum Watch Thumbnail
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Portable Drum Watch

Christoph Schissler (ca. 1531-1608) (Clockmaker)
1550-1570 (Renaissance)
gilded brass case, partially gilded brass dial with traces of unidentified red pigment, iron and brass movement
(Renaissance Europe )

The earliest watches were small, portable versions of drum-shaped table clocks. This one has a sundial, which was far more accurate and could be used to reset the clock. The 24-hour dial is marked in Roman numerals on the outer band and in Arabic numerals on the inner one. The animals leaping through the foliage design were cast in relief and then chased, marking this watch as an object of luxury.

Inscription

[Signature] C.S.

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.

Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Conservation

Date Description Narrative
5/13/1958 Treatment cleaned
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Geographies

Germany, Augsburg (Place of Origin)

Measurements

13/16 x 1 7/8 in. (2 x 4.8 cm)

Credit Line

Acquired by Henry Walters

Location in Museum

Charles Street: Second Floor: Collector's Study

Accession Number

In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.

58.70

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Hours

  • Wednesday—Sunday: 10 a.m.—5 p.m.
  • Thursday: 1–8 p.m.
  • Monday—Tuesday: Closed

Location

600 N. Charles St.
Baltimore, MD
21201

Phone

410-547-9000

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