Monstrance Clock or Mirror Clock, ca. 1570Made in Nuremberg, GermanyCase of gilt bronze; dial of gilt brass; movement of steel In addition to showing the hours, the astrolabe dial of this clock (parts of which are now missing) was made to indicate the apparent motions of twenty-three stars in the northern hemisphere, the position of the sun and the moon in the zodiac, the astrological houses of heaven, and the age and phase of the moon in its monthly cycle. The recessed ring encircling the chapter of hours gives the day of the year, saints’ days, and other calendrical information for the period beginning in 1570 and ending in 1610. The dial on top is for setting the alarm. The inclusion of a clock such as this one in a Kunstkammer would have demonstrated the owner’s familiarity with cosmology, astronomy, and astrology.
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Monstrance Clock or Mirror Clock, ca. 1570
Made in Nuremberg, Germany
Case of gilt bronze; dial of gilt brass; movement of steel


In addition to showing the hours, the astrolabe dial of this clock (parts of which are now missing) was made to indicate the apparent motions of twenty-three stars in the northern hemisphere, the position of the sun and the moon in the zodiac, the astrological houses of heaven, and the age and phase of the moon in its monthly cycle.

The recessed ring encircling the chapter of hours gives the day of the year, saints’ days, and other calendrical information for the period beginning in 1570 and ending in 1610. The dial on top is for setting the alarm. The inclusion of a clock such as this one in a Kunstkammer would have demonstrated the owner’s familiarity with cosmology, astronomy, and astrology.

Source: metmuseum.org

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