Horloge 1785

This pocket watch, crafted by Wm. Wood, bears an image of Adam and Eve flanking the Tree of Knowledge. These figures, iconic since antiquity, are often used to symbolize original sin and humanity's fall from grace. Consider how this scene echoes through time. We see the serpent, entwined around the tree, offering the forbidden fruit. The same motif appears in illuminated manuscripts, Renaissance paintings, and even modern-day cartoons. The postures and emotions have varied, yet the core narrative persists, carried by the echoes of artists past. Just as Laocoön's agony resonates through Hellenistic sculpture and Renaissance interpretations, so too does the moment of temptation ripple through time, evoking a primal sense of human frailty and the allure of the forbidden. The image on this watch suggests that time, like knowledge, can corrupt innocence. The cyclical nature of time mirrors the perpetual recurrence of these symbols, forever reminding us of our collective past and the burdens of memory.