Mary Quite Contrary

Clock watch, ca. 1600-1610
Movement by Michael Nouwen, or Nouen

The hours, 1–12, are struck on a bell screwed to the interior of the case. The dial plate of Nouwen’s movement is made in two parts, an unusual feature that makes possible the separate removal of the wheels on one train of the watch without disturbing wheels of the other. The balance and the verge of the watch’s escapement are later replacements. The female figure in the center of the dial, reminiscent of Flemish personifications of Summer, wears a crown of grain stalks and carries a cornucopia in her right arm. The chapter ring is engraved with the hours (I–XII), the half hours are marked with stars, and there are touch pins at the hour to enable the user to tell the time in darkness.

(Source: lalitab)