Tuesday, June 03, 2014

A clock like no other





Believe it or not this is a clock, a functioning clock.



It was created by James Cox, a noted jeweler and clock maker.



In 1777 Grigory Potiomkin pandering to Catherine II's passion for collecting, commissioned the celebrated craftsman to make the clock and automaton.



Cox needed the money and used an existing mechanical peacock but added a rooster, squirrel, and owl. The innards that make the clock work, which includes the peacock raising its tail and the other living creatures moving, are hidden into the head of mushroom.

The clock has been in St. Petersburg since 1781. 




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