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Table clock by Nikolaus Lanz, Austria, 1550–1560 — view 1 of 1
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Clocks · Table clock

Table clock by Nikolaus Lanz, Austria, 1550–1560

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.
Maker / attribution
Nikolaus Lanz (Maker); Michael Rudolf or Köllinger (attributed)
Date
1550–1560
Historical period
Renaissance Horology (1400 – 1600)
Country of origin
Austria
Place
Innsbruck
Object type
Table clock
Materials / technique
Kupferlegierung, feuervergoldet; Werk: Eisen
Dimensions
H. 21,5 cm, L.13,5 cm, B. 8,5 cm
Holding institution
Fine Arts Museum Vienna
Accession / object no.
KK_836
Credit line
Fine Arts Museum Vienna
Catalogue title (original)
Tischuhr (German)

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Record summary

Held and catalogued by Fine Arts Museum Vienna (object number KK_836), this is a table clock by Nikolaus Lanz, made in Innsbruck, Austria, dated 1550–1560. The Atlas places it in the Renaissance Horology period (1400 – 1600) of its Clocks collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: Kupferlegierung, feuervergoldet; Werk: Eisen. Recorded dimensions: H. 21,5 cm, L.13,5 cm, B. 8,5 cm. The record is illustrated with 1 photograph.

Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.

Catalogue description

Catalogue description from Fine Arts Museum Vienna

Beschriftung: Beschriftung: "MEMENTO MORI"; "SOL"; "LUNA" Beschriftung: Stempel/Zeichen: NL

Shown in the original language of the source catalogue. An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.

Historical context

Renaissance Horology (1400 – 1600)

Spring power makes clocks portable; Nuremberg and Augsburg produce the first watches; the Prague Orloj is built.

Spring power made the domestic clock portable. Augsburg and Nuremberg produced gilt-brass table clocks, often with astronomical dials and alarms; weight-driven Gothic wall clocks and English lantern clocks served households. Clocks of this period have foliot or balance-wheel control and usually only an hour hand.

Read the period in the timelineMore clocks from this periodEarlier: Medieval Period

Atlas type guide

Bracket, table and spring-driven clocks

Spring-driven clocks freed timekeeping from the hanging weight. The coiled mainspring, documented from the fifteenth century, made portable table clocks possible; to even out its declining force, makers used the fusee, a conical pulley connected to the barrel by a gut line or chain. Renaissance table clocks from Augsburg and Nuremberg — drum-shaped, square or tower-shaped in gilt brass — were luxury scientific objects, often with astronomical dials and alarms.

After the pendulum, English makers developed the bracket clock: a wooden case with a carrying handle, a short pendulum with a verge escapement, and often repeating work to sound the hours on demand at night. Later examples use the anchor escapement. In the nineteenth century, 'table clock' became a broad term for spring clocks of every nationality.

What to look for

  • A fusee in the movement (cone-shaped pulley) and the type of line — gut or chain.
  • Verge escapement with a short bob pendulum, often with a decoratively engraved backplate.
  • Repeat cords or buttons that make the clock strike again on demand.
  • Gilt-brass engraved cases and horizontal dials on Renaissance pieces.
  • Case shapes: inverted bell, bell top, break-arch, lancet or balloon.

Dating clues

  • Drum and tower table clocks: c. 1520–1650.
  • Ebony veneered English bracket clocks with verge escapements: c. 1670–1800.
  • Engraved backplates were usual on English clocks until c. 1800, then generally plain.

General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.

Read next:FuseeVerge escapementAnchor (recoil) escapement

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Archaeology Data Service