Cabinet with night clock

Jakob Herman (1615–1685) Night clock: Pietro Tommaso Campani Paintings: Carlo Maratta (1625-1713), Guglielmo Cortese (1628–1679), Pietro del Pò (1610–1692), Francesco Legerino (unknown), all active in Rome Cabinet with night clock 1663-1668 This highlight of baroque Roman cabinet-making combines the work of different master-craftsmen. Lavishly embellished with ebony, lapis lazuli and marble, the cabinet case by Jakob Herman is decorated with scenes from the life of Constantine the Great. The interior features views of Rome’s eight principal churches. The ca-binet is surmounted by a night clock – a clock that could be read in the dark which Campani had invented for Pope Alexander VII who had trouble sleeping at night and wanted a clock with a silent escapement for his be-droom. This impressive piece of furniture, its iconography a celebration of the supremacy of the Catholic Church, was presented to Emperor Leopold I by Cardinal Frederick of Hesse-Darmstadt, which is why it is now in Vienna.