Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Automaton Clock in the Form of an Elephant
Not on view
The mahout (elephant keeper), the turbaned Ottoman warriors, and the crowning crescent all allude to the Eastern origins of the elephant. Within the Kunstkammer the elephant represented rulership. This automaton clock, which strikes at both the quarter hour and the hour, is driven by a movement connected to a wheel mounted on the walkway of the howdah (saddle). On the hour, the four Muslim warriors revolve around the brickwork tower. The mahout thumps his arm up and down, as though he were leading the animal, and his counterweighted eyes move back and forth as the machine travels. Visit the Making Marvels page at The Met’s website to see a video of this piece in motion.
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