Object Studies in Art History – serie

In the Early Modern period, astronomical table clocks were among the most complex and indeed most expensive objects produced in the centers of craftsmanship in southern Germany such as Augsburg and Nuremberg. While the extensive information provided by the various timekeeping systems, the positions of the sun, the moon and the zodiac, and the many other features is truly impressive, an equally surprising element is the central principle by which the table clocks are designed: their presentation in the shape of other objects. The study shows how clockmakers developed formal strategies to set the scene for their outstanding craftsmanship and expertise. Astronomical table clocks fitted out with casings in the form of towers, mirrors or books thus take on the symbolic interpretation of these artefacts as technological wonders, images of the cosmos, and vessels of heavenly knowledge. From the invention of the spring drive to the implementation of the pendulum clock, the study offers countless findings on the practice and teaching of technology, art, and science.

The "lion of Saint Mark's" in Venice, the "Capitoline wolf" in Rome, or the "griffin" on the imperial palace in Goslar: Monumental animal bronzes dominated many medieval cities and palaces. Whether taken from antiquity, reworked, and partially altered, or cast anew, they represent ideal figures of identification for single individuals or social groups until today due to their size, positioning, and generally open meaning. The book takes a look for the first time at selected bronzes south and north of the Alps, their histories and modes of reception from a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective.

Die Forschungsgeschichte der Zeit wird traditionell von einer Trennung zwischen technikhistorischen Ansätzen, welche die Entwicklung der Zeitmessung nachzeichnen, und sozial- und kulurhistorischen Ansätzen, die sich etwa mit Fragen nach dem Zeitbewusstsein oder gesellschaftlicher Synchronisierung und Disziplinierung beschäftigen, bestimmt. " Material Histories of Time" eröffnet einen Dialog zwischen beiden Zugängen. Ausgehend von den Objekten wie zum Beispiel Monumental-, Tisch- und tragbare Uhren sowie Kutschenuhren werden Praktiken der Zeitmessung und -erfahrung untersucht. Die Beiträge reichen von den Anfängen der mechanischen Zeitmessumg im Mittelalter bis zur Industrialisierung im 8. und 9. Jahrhundert.

Shields are both weapons and image carriers. The close link between these functions dates back to antiquity but took on fresh significance in the early modern period: at a time when shields were losing their military relevance, they became even more sought-after as image carriers. The weapon found a new purpose in this role. This publication traces the change in the use of shields, showing what it means to carry them as image carriers on one’s own body, examining the role such objects play in generating and conveying pictorial meaning, and reconstructing the new functional, spatial and narrative contexts of image shields. The focus is on the key phase from the 15th to the 17th century, with additional insights into antiquity and cultural contexts outside Europe. A first in-depth examination of the shield as an image carrier and topic of art theoryPresentation of little-known objects from European and American collections References to the animal kingdom (turtle) and processes of transcultural entanglement

Natural science collections were widespread in the early modern period. This volume focuses on the eventful collection history of the Chamber of Mathematics and Physics of the former Jesuit College in Cologne from its 17th-century beginnings to the present day. Political and (ecclesiastical) historical events influenced the organisation, function, and collection of instruments. As early as the 18th century, but more especially in the French period around 1800, the Jesuit collection developed into one of mathematics and physics, which Georg Simon Ohm later used to prepare for his important discovery of Ohm’s Law. In the context of science’s historical development towards modern natural science, the Cologne chamber played an active role, helping to shape this major transformation on a small scale.