Watch

François Czapek

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

size On the back cover of the case is a portrait of the Russian czar Nicholas I (r. 1825–55) in painted enamel, indicating that the watch was probably commissioned as a present to a subject in recognition of loyalty or service. The movement, with separate cocks for the train of wheels, has jeweled end stones, a lever escapement, a temperature-compensated balance wheel, and a keyless stem-winding mechanism. It is a very early example of a stem-winding movement, made by the original partner in the firm that became Patek-Philippe, still in existence in Geneva. The mechanism is the earliest practical one to have been produced in quantity. It was invented by Antoine Norbert de Patek's subsequent partner Jean-Adrien Philippe (1815–1894) and patented in 1845.

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