Bracket clock, Pietro Tommaso Campani, Rome, 1680-1690
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1680-1690
Bracket clock, Pietro Tommaso Campani, Rome, 1680-1690 is an object recorded by Victoria and Albert Museum, dated 1680-1690. The museum's brief description reads: Bracket clock, Italian, 1680-1690,"Petrus Thomas Campanus Romae"..
Museum description: Bracket night clock. Ebonised wood veneered on oak, surmounted by a scrolled classic pediment of solid wood carved in sections, on which are mounted three gilt metal vase finials and a gilt metal standing figure in Roman armour with a harp (Orpheus?) in the niche. The unglazed and pierced metal dial is painted with a representation of the Flight into Egypt; behind is a two-part circular metal plate, to which the circular clock mechanism is attached, and supported on a horizontal bracket screwed at each end to the case.
The moulded plinth is supported on carved and gilded wood paw feet with gilt metal leaf ornament and turned and ebonised back feet. The softwood backing is nailed in place (with hand made nails). A deep door (held on a single, metal sprung clip at the right) occupies the front third of the clock body and contains the dial, window and clock mechanism. Below the painted… The museum record gives material recorded as wood; measurements Height 76 cm; Width 43 cm; Depth 18.5 cm; place associated: Rome; maker recorded: Pietro Tommaso Campani.
These details come from the holding museum's own record; how far this object represents a wider collectible type has not yet been independently verified.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
The historical background to the invention of the night clock provides a fascinating insight into the practical considerations of the most important patrons of 17th century Rome. Cardinal Farnese, maggiordomo to Pope Alexander VII (1655-1667), was asked to provide a clock for the pope who was unable to sleep during the night due to the noisy ticking produced by the verge escapement on conventional clocks. Farnese commissioned the Campani brothers from San Felice dell'Umbria (Matteo, Pietro Tommaso and Giuseppe), Clockmakers to the Holy See, to create a silent clock that would show the hours during the night without the annoyance of a visible lamp. The time, which can be read through the placement of a lamp or candle behind the pierced dials, would have thus been revealed throughout the day and night. Brusa suggests that the duration of this type of night clock is usually 26-30 hours. This type of night clock was made by many different makers all over Italy for over 50 years, aimed at the wealthy, but were not more widely 'popular because of its high cost and complications.' Brusa notes that the majority of night clocks which have survived (over one hundred) have painted dials, and suggests that these tended to derive from church altars, and that clocks were often considered as symbols of the transience of human life. Around 1710 night clocks were superseded when more precise and less expensive clocks with pull repeating mechanisms were readily available. After the Campani…
Physical characteristics
- Material
- wood
- Dimensions
- Height 76 cm; Width 43 cm; Depth 18.5 cm
Technical characteristics
- Technique
- Softwood veneered with ebonised fruitwood(?), with gilt metal and carved and gilded elements
- Maker recorded
- Pietro Tommaso Campani
- Place recorded
- Rome
Design
- Inscriptions recorded
- Petrus Thomas Campanus Inventor Romae
Identification
- Museum object name
- Bracket clock
- Museum object number
- W.72-1926
- Museum system number
- O372386
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: confirm materials, dimensions, maker and wider type against the holding institution and a specialist reference.