Design for a Clock, from 'Disegni Diversi'

Design for a Clock, from 'Disegni Diversi'

Giovanni Giardini

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Design for a standing clock, characterized by two birds resting on one leg, on the left and right side of the base. The base consists of four S-shaped scrolls supporting a crowned coat of arms. Above it a mirror is placed. The round clock plate is held in place by two C-volutes and is decorated with leaf-shaped ornaments.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Design for a Clock, from 'Disegni Diversi'Design for a Clock, from 'Disegni Diversi'Design for a Clock, from 'Disegni Diversi'Design for a Clock, from 'Disegni Diversi'Design for a Clock, from 'Disegni Diversi'

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.