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orpheus clock

A group of nine mid 16th-century table clocks bear decoration in the form of Orpheus charming the beasts with music, and Eurydice and Cerberus at the entrance to Hades. The cases are believed to be the work of a Nuremberg goldsmith, and the association between the Orpheus scene and the clocks is that the scene is an allegorical presentation of musical harmony, closely linked with the theories of cosmic harmony and the music of the spheres propounded by Pythagoras. Some of the clocks have round cases and others square ones, but while the decoration has the same theme the movements differ widely. Except that the clocks are believed to be south German, made 1560-80, no definite conclusions about them can be reached until more is known.

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  • Part of Speech: noun
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  • Industry/Domain: Chronometry
  • Category: Clock
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