Objekt 19
Roller clock on inclined plane
Description
Roller clocks are time indicators that run down an inclined plane. The idea was developed in the second half of the 17th century. The monk and naturalist Caspar Schott (1608-1666) described various clocks in his work "Technica curiosa," published in 1664, including a "Horologium Cylindricum volubile, quod innat a sua gravitate per declive planum sensim descendus, horas indicat," that is, a clock in the form of a rotating cylinder that slowly rolls down an inclined plane due to its inherent gravity and indicates the hours. In the clock on display, a lead weight dated to 1660 provides the drive and a slight serration provides the resistance. Stylistic clues, however, suggest a later manufacture of the clock.
Object description
Southern Germany, dated 1660, but possibly later
Brass, copper, steel (clock); wood, carved, partly gilded (inclined plane)
Bequest Carl and Lini Nathan-Rupp, Binningen
Inv. 1982.1149.