In the 17th century the pewter dish was a familiar household object. The shape must have suggested a clock dial, for in the 17th century clocks began to be made for hanging on the wall with dials in the shape of the normal domestic dish. The movements were light and usually provided with a cowtail pendulum that swung in front of the dial, allowing the clock to hang close against the wall. The movement was usually a timepiece only, without striking mechanism, and contained in a case of thin sheet-iron. The dish itself was of iron, covered with decoration in brass or copper relief. Sometimes the type was adapted to stand on a table and had small feet at the back, and later examples departed from the true dish shape. The German name for this type of clock is Telleruhr ('dish clock'). The type is found in south Germany and Austria but does not seem to have been popular in other countries.