Pair-case repeating watch

John Champion

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The hours and minutes are in Chinese characters on this British watch made for export to China. The painting of the characters suggests the hand of a European craftsman not entirely comfortable with Chinese calligraphy. They correspond to the twice - twelve division of the day customary in the West and do not relate to traditional Chinese methods of dividing the day, which are too complex to fit on a simple watch dial.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.

Metropolitan Museum of Art