Favorite Object: Rosenbach Museum & Library

Photo: Rosenbach Museum & Library. 1954.2017 

Decorative Orbital Clock

Early 18th Century

Marble, Metal

Jean-Baptiste Baillon

This Jean-Baptiste Baillon clock was my favorite object on display at the Rosenbach Museum & Library this week. My favorite thing about the museum was the overall history about the Rosenbach Brothers and how they came to amount so many objects and how their interests defined them. I also highly enjoyed the Steven Colbert exhibit and the Maurice Sendak exhibit. This clock however, caught my eye when we were taking the tour of the house. The large golden snakes were what I noticed first on this larger than life vase/sculpture and it fit in with the fine art and pieces that Philip Rosenbach collected. When Farrar Fitzgerald, The Assistant Director of Education, informed us it was a clock, I became even more amazed by the piece. I find old fashioned clocks interesting and I am always impressed by the mechanics and working of them from past time periods. Let alone, this piece was completely original and had a unique concept that I had never seen before, hence why I chose this object. The snakes tell the time with their tongues, with the numbers displayed on a horizontal dial that revolves around the top of the vase sculpture. The clock is ornate and reflects a classic timeless style. 

Close up detail of snake and tongue used to indicate time

Photo: Rosenbach Museum & Library 

This object was acquired by the museum through Philip Rosenbach's collection of decorative arts. It is on display in the Rosenbach dining room with many of the other decorative and fine art pieces he collected. It fits in well since the room is full of these fine art pieces and shows that it was a room that belonged to someone with wealth. It is not the focus of the room, but rather a complimenting piece to the entire feel of the dining room. 

A background in Art History or clock making would give me a better appreciation of the piece. The Rosebach Museum has a blog with this post about the piece that gave me a greater understanding about this piece and the creator of it. 

Those who would not be interested in this piece would be those who are not interested in fine and decorative arts. For the Rosenbach museum, it could be visitors who came to see the manuscript and rare book collections or the Maurice Sendak collection. Opposing views on this piece would find the piece to be more about the sculpture and the detail of the piece and the art history of the significance this piece holds, rather than the interesting clockwork detail that I am interested in. 

Other experiences would be to see more of the clockmaker's pieces in other museums around the world, or to visit the National Clock & Watch Museum in Colombia, Pa which has been on my museums to see list for a while.