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Automaton clock in the form of a lion

Clockmaker: Karl Schmidt German
ca. 1620–35
Not on view
The rampant lion, an animal with strong heraldic connotations, must have been a successful model for several types of automata, to judge from the number of surviving examples. The eyes and mouth of this automaton are set in motion when the clock strikes the hour. The piece was in use long enough to have been fitted with a short pendulum sometime after its invention in the second half of the seventeenth century.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Automaton clock in the form of a lion
  • Maker: Clockmaker: Karl Schmidt (German, ca. 1590–1635/36, working 1614)
  • Date: ca. 1620–35
  • Culture: German, Augsburg
  • Medium: Case: gilded brass and gilded silver on a base of ebony, and ebony veneered on fruitwood; Dial: silvered brass; Movement: iron and brass
  • Dimensions: Overall: 13 1/2 × 8 × 5 1/2 in. (34.3 × 20.3 × 14 cm)
  • Classification: Horology
  • Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Simon Guggenheim, 1929
  • Object Number: 29.52.15
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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