Pendule bekroond met buste after 1706

This print shows a design for a clock, made by an anonymous artist. We can assume it originated somewhere in Europe, judging from the Latin numerals around the clock face, and the classical bust at the summit. In its time, the clock would have been a recent invention with the power to reshape social relations by dictating the rhythms of work and leisure. This design suggests the clock had quickly become an object of status and display for the wealthy. The symbolic language is complex: classical motifs are mixed with heraldic emblems, suggesting the importance of both civic virtue and inherited privilege. This object speaks to the ways in which emerging technologies are adapted to existing social structures. Historians can research these connections by using historical archives, genealogical records, and museum collections to better understand the relationship between art, technology, and social power in early modern Europe.