The Metropolitan Museum of Art - Celestial globe with clockwork

Celestial globe with clockwork

David Roentgen: Long-Case Clock

David Roentgen: Long-Case Clock
(00:00:52)

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet

The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet
(00:02:20) 11927 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Demonstration
(00:02:17) 18728 views

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation

Rolltop Desk by David Roentgen: Animation
(00:01:00) 3200 views

Related Content

Astronomical table clock

Astronomical table clock

Door lock and key

Door lock and key

Automaton in the form of a chariot pushed by a Chinese attendant and set with a clock

Automaton in the form of a chariot pushed by a Chinese attendant and set with a clock

Browse current and upcoming exhibitions and events.

Gallery Talk and Demonstration—Roentgen Furniture
July 12, 2013
Summer Sketching—European Sculpture (Ages 11–18)
July 24, 2013
Exhibition Tour—Plain or Fancy?: Restraint and Exuberance in the Decorative Arts
July 25, 2013
Conversation with a Curator and a Conservator—The Roentgens' Berlin Secretary Cabinet
August 2, 2013
Marie Antoinette and the French Revolution
August 6, 2013
Maiolica to Porcelain: Revolution or Evolution?
August 8, 2013

Celestial globe with clockwork

Gerhard Emmoser (working 1556, died 1584)

Date:: 1579
Culture:: Austrian, Vienna
Medium:: Case: silver, partly gilded, and gilt brass; movement: brass, steel
Dimensions:: H. 10 3/4 in. (27.3 cm), W. 8 in. (20.3 cm), D. 7 1/2 in. (19.1 cm)
Classification:: Metalwork
Credit Line:: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Accession Number:: 17.190.636

This artwork is currently on display in Gallery 520

Description

This globe houses a movement made by Gerhard Emmoser, imperial clockmaker from 1566 until his death in 1584, who signed and dated the meridian ring. The movement, which has been extensively rebuilt, rotated in the celestial sphere and drove a small image of the sun along the path of the ecliptic. The hour was indicated on a dial mounted at the top of the globe's axis and the day of the year appeared on a calendar rotating in the instrument's horizon ring. The silver globe, with its exquisitely engraved constellations and Pegasus support, is the work of an anonymous goldsmith who was probably employed in the imperial workshops in Vienna or Prague.
Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Signature: [on upper framework]: GERHARD EMMOSER SAC[RAE] CAES[ARAE] MEIS[TATIS] HOROLOGIARIUS F[ECIT] VIENNAE A[NNO] 1579 [Gerhard Emmoser, clockmaker to the Holy Roman Emperor, Vienna, 1579]
Provenance

Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II of Austria (by 1607/11–1648) ; Christina, Queen of Sweden (from 1651) ; Avocat Fortier, Conseiller du Roi (1770) ; M. Delacronière, Conseiller en la cour des aides de Paris (1781) ; M. Daugny (until 1858; his sale, Hôtel des Commissaires-Priséurs (Charles Pillet), Paris, March 8, 1858, no. 62); Charles Mannheim (in 1898) ; J. Pierpont Morgan , New York and London (until 1913) ; J. P. Morgan Jr. , New York (by descent, 1913–17; to MMA)
See also
Who
Gerhard Emmoser (1)
What
Metal (59,485)

Copper alloy (16,688)

Metalwork (14,680)

Silver (14,048)

Gilt (9,080)

Iron and iron alloy (7,025)

Brass (3,517)

Iron alloy (3,444)

Steel (3,175)

Cases (1,749)

Movements (75)

Globes (65)

Celestial globes (5)
Where
Europe (150,450)

Austria (2,148)

Vienna (311)
When
A.D. 1400-1600 (20,687)
In the Museum
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (43,182)
Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History
Europe and the Age of Exploration

Prague during the Rule of Rudolph II (1583–1612)

Collecting for the Kunstkammer

The Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburgs, 1400–1600

Central Europe (including Germany), 1400–1600 A.D.
MetPublications
Search for related Met publications

120008314