Clock ornament

late 18th or early 19th century

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 545

Perseus, continuing to do wonders with the Medusa's head, used it to kill the sea monster who was about to devour Andromeda. Before washing his hands of the monster's blood, he put Medusa's head on a bed of twigs and seaweed, which promptly hardened. Thus Ovid explains the origin of coral. This head probably graced a clock with figures enacting the episode.

The motif of the severed head of Medusa teeming with snakes became one of the most characteristic subjects for cameos. The image of the head perfectly suits the round field of a tondo. Artists were challenged to capture in the motif a perfect stasis between the macabre and the sublime. Generations versed in the classics knew that Perseus presented the head to the goddess Minerva and that it thenceforth embellished her breastplate. By implication, it served the wearer as a protective talisman, tacitly announcing the triumph of good over evil.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

Title: Clock ornament
Date: late 18th or early 19th century
Culture: French
Medium: Gilt bronze
Dimensions: Overall (confirmed): 2 1/2 × 4 7/8 × 1 7/8 in. (6.4 × 12.4 × 4.8 cm)
Classification: Metalwork-Gilt Bronze
Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1906
Object Number: 07.225.510.225
Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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