Longcase clock with calendar 1675 - 1695

Curator: My first thought is "presence". It stands there like a sentinel, doesn't it? Such elegant height... is it the polish that gives the wood such gravity? Editor: This is indeed a magnificent longcase clock with calendar, crafted by Joseph Knibb sometime between 1675 and 1695. Currently it graces the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Curator: Joseph Knibb, you say? That name has echoes, doesn't it? I feel this profound link to a very particular past, the way time becomes visualised... this isn't just an object; it’s an ancestor of sorts. A really bossy one. Editor: The Baroque exuberance is unmistakable. Notice the interplay of wood and metal, sculpture, and architecture... Curator: The face—it isn't cold and stark like our screens today; it feels organic, embellished, full of life. Almost human! Like those ornate automata that were popular; I love seeing an inanimate object try and resemble real life. Editor: Consider how deeply interwoven time was with ritual in this period. The clock tower became the town square and civic symbol; people knew their place because time dictated everything! And there's geometric, ornamental elements there... Curator: It's almost a symbolic compression of architecture—like a little Renaissance city has been distilled into a furniture piece. Timekeeping elevated into an aesthetic manifesto! Editor: A statement, truly! A marriage of decorative art and pure function, a calendar for everyday use housed within an artwork. We can't deny that Knibb successfully challenged the relationship of functionality and art, in a distinct Baroque fashion. Curator: This clock reminds me that even the most practical things in life can possess deep, abiding beauty. And a stern reminder about mortality and how time marches on. Editor: Absolutely! Time is indeed a thief, but pieces like this endure to outlive and defy it.