Figure 9. Another view of the Borghesi clock. 



The second clock was, as Borghesi had promised, 

 much easier of execution. Within a year, it was 

 completed and functioned with complete success. 



This is the clock now in the Museum of History and 

 Technology. It is housed in a tall case of dark-red ma- 

 hogany veneered on oak, with restrained carving fea- 

 turing ribands and foliate motifs. Gilt-brass decora- 

 tions flank the face of the hood, which is surmounted by 

 three gilt-brass finials in the form of orbs. A wide 

 door in the waist may be opened to attend the weights. 

 The case is 7 feet 8 inches high, 20W inches wide at the 

 waist, and 14 inches in depth. 



The dial is of gilt brass, measuring 21 inches high 

 and 15 inches in width, with a number of supple- 

 mentary silvered dials visible through its openings. 

 Instead of hands, the dial utilizes three concentric 

 rings moving around a central disc, the indications of 

 which are read at two bisecting gilt lines inscribed in 

 the glass face. Twelve separate functions are per- 

 formed by the chapter ring assembly alone, and there 

 are 14 openings on the dial. It is estimated that the 

 clock performs 30 separate functions, including strik- 

 ing and chiming. Of the multiple chapter rings, the 

 outermost is 1 % inches wide, the center ring is % inch 

 wide, and the innermost ring measures l u 4 inches in 

 width. 



THE DIAL-PLATE ENGRAVINGS 



The gilt dial is incised throughout with figures and 

 inscriptions in engraving of the very finest quality, as 

 is evidenced in the illustrations. The frontispiece is 

 surmounted at its center by the crowned double eagle 

 of the House of Hapsburg, indicating the identity of 

 the sovereign in whose reign it was made, Emperor 

 Francis I or the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria. 

 Below the eagle at either side are flying cherubs 

 supporting ribands with inscriptions. Centered at the 

 bottom of the frontispiece immediately above the 

 chapter rings is the moving silvered orb representing 

 the sun. Surrounding it is a tableau of the Holy 

 Trinity, with the Virgin Mary being crowned by 

 Christ holding a cross at the left and God with a 

 sword in hand at the right, and a dove representing 

 the Holy Spirit hovering over the Virgin's head. 

 Father S. X. Winters, S. J., considers it reminiscent of 

 the triptych "The Coronation of the Virgin" by Fra 

 Lippo Lippi. 



In the upper spandrels of the dial are two more 

 cherubs bearing ribands with inscriptions. In the 

 lower left corner is a magnificent engraving of Atlas 



42 



HI III TIN 24H: ( u\ Ikllil IK )\S FROM THE Mt'SKUM OK HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 



