A (Dragon’s) Brief History of Time

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Announcer: This is a Getty podcast.

[Theme music begins]

Host:   What can seem endless, march, and even fly? It’s time! Welcome to If Objects Could Talk, a podcast where art and artifacts come alive and share their side of the story.

Take a look around you right now. How many clocks can you see? [clock ticking] If you’re in a car, there’s probably a clock on the radio or dashboard. If you’re in a classroom, there could be a clock on the wall. If you’re at home, then take a peek at the stove or microwave. [microwave beeps] And of course, if there’s a grownup nearby, they probably have a clock on their cellphone and maybe even on their wrist. But telling time has not always been so easy.

[Light classical music]

Until the 17th century, clocks were pretty inaccurate. Even once more accurate mechanical and pendulum clocks were invented, they were expensive to make, and therefore rare. That’s one reason why home clocks were often so heavily decorated, looking more like sculptures or decorative art objects than everyday tools.

Today’s guest lives on one such elaborate ticking timepiece. This wall clock was made in 1740, and it has three animals on its flowery casing. The creature at the top of the clock, a fierce green dragon, has agreed to share his time with us today. Let’s not keep him waiting. [clock ticking]

Dragon: [masculine voice with posh British accent speaks] Our time is short. Let us begin. I’ve spent my life stationed atop a clock with a circular face about the size of a large delectable grapefruit. That face is white with black Roman numerals for numbers. Around the clock face is an intricate twisting green vine with red and yellow flowers cascading down two and a half feet, about the distance between a doorknob and the floor.

There are three creatures clinging to the branches: a brown primate who thinks it’s always time to monkey around; [monkey chatter] a pale blue-winged goose who loves it when time flies; [goose honks] and me, a great green dragon [voice amplified] standing mighty at 12 o’clock. [low growl] As if that wasn’t spectacular enough, we’re all surrounded by a twisted garland of shiny, golden-looking leaves made of gilt bronze. [rising piano chords]

Here at the top of the clock, I consider it my job to be a guardian of time. I’m here to stop anyone from wasting, whirring away, or worst of all, killing time. [spooky, groaning sound] Everyone knows that time marches on, as it should. But do you ever think about the history of time? Or perhaps I should say, the history of timekeepers.

[Low, percussive jungle music]

One of the first timekeeping devices was the sundial. Have you ever noticed that throughout a sunny day, shadows move around?

Host: Uh-huh.

Dragon: Perhaps you’ve realized that a particular room will get very hot and sunny in the afternoon, or that the shade of a tree changes sides over the course of a day. Well, ancient cultures noticed that, too, and some of them decided to take advantage of it. But there are some disadvantages to sundials. They really lose their shine in a rainstorm. [thunder rolls] They’re lost in the dark at night. And since the length of time the sun is visible changes throughout the seasons, sundials were not consistent timekeepers. And what is a timekeeper supposed to be, if not consistent? So, you humans kept at it, moving from sundials to water clocks, [running water] to sand timers like the hourglass, [pouring sand] and finally to mechanical clocks like mine. [clock ticking]

The word clock can be traced back to the Latin word clocca, which means bell. [crowd chatter and bell chimes] In the Middle Ages, communities relied on a town bell tower that would ring the hour, letting people know what time it was. In fact, when mechanical clocks with faces and dials were invented, they were originally called watches, because someone had to watch them to know the time. Designs kept getting smaller and smaller, until they could be held on a wristband and became the wristwatches we know today. Now, people could carry clocks with them wherever they went and tell time with just a glance. [children say “Wow!”] And being able to tell time is important, because time is power. [voice amplifies with rolling thunder] When will you meet someone? When will a party or game start? When does your school day or your parents’ work day end? It’s all a matter of time. [deep breath]

But there’s still so much to tell you, and our time is running short.

[Upbeat classical music]

Our clock was made by Charles Voison, born in 1685 to a middle-class family in Paris. In 1710, he became a master clock maker. His work earned him great wealth, which elevated his family. One of his children even worked for the king. But even though Voison made the ticking clock, he didn’t know how to make the porcelain case holding it, which means our clock required teamwork. The clock case, the vines, flowers, and even yours truly, was made in the Chantilly Porcelain Manufactory. [kiln burning and crowd chatting] Chantilly is a neighborhood near Paris, and has given its name to Chantilly cream, Chantilly lace, and to our manufactory. It was started by the king’s cousin, Louis Henri, Duke of Bourbon and Prince of Condé and Chantilly. This nobleman had an avid interest in the arts. At the time, Japanese and Chinese porcelain was very popular, and there were many factories in France trying to crack the code of how it was made, hopefully without actually cracking anything. [crack and voice says “Oh, no.”]

Because Louis Henri had so many magnificent Japanese and Chinese art pieces, from prints to figurines, he could study many porcelain objects and hire artists to test out recipes. [bubbling and voice says “Hmm.”] Who knew art was so much like science? They eventually developed their own kind of soft paste porcelain. [voice cries “I’ve got it!”] Which was made from a combination of many materials, including white clay, lime, chalk, sand, and soapstone. [heavy thump and crumble] For our clock case, the artists at the Chantilly formed the monkey, [monkey hoots] the goose, [goose honks] and me [growl] out of clay. Then, we went into a fire hot kiln twice. [burning] The first time in, the kiln helped to fortify our bodies. Then we were painted with a glaze. This was a secret recipe, closely guarded by the Chantilly. [paint brushing and lid closes] It looked dry and dusty, but when we went back into the ovens, the heat caused a chemical reaction that left us shiny and colorful. [bell chimes] Then the porcelain pieces, the gilt bronze frame, and the clock were joined together. Our work as time guardians had begun. [triumphant music]

We were bought by a wealthy Chantilly family who lived in a town home, and placed over the mother’s bed where we kept watch. [chatter and household activity] In this household, the servants were the first to wake up. They were usually working by 4am. They had such long days; I still don’t know how they got it all done. The mother did not like to be woken up until 7am. [voice yawns] But their son, a boy called Pierre [child says “Bonjour!”] was up and active even before the sun came up. [child runs and laughs] That’s what I call a good use of your time. [clock ticking] While his mother wanted to say her prayers and then eat breakfast, Pierre was eager to get moving and shaking, thinking of games he wanted to play, books he wanted to read, places he wanted to go. [water crashing and voice says “All aboard!”] His parents would tell him what time a friend could come over to visit, or when his lessons would start, and he would dart in and out of the bedroom throughout the day to track the time on our clock. [clock chimes]

What does your schedule look like? What time do you wake up, or go to school, or get to play? [children at recess] What would your favorite kind of day look like?

Pierre’s favorite kind of day was spent exploring his home and the treasures it contained. On one particularly memorable day, Pierre had a full schedule of following his father around the home library, where he got to look through a microscope [child says “Wow!”] and playing with his cousins in the garden. [children laugh] His cousins were going to stay over that evening while his parents and his aunt and uncle went to an important dinner. In this era, around the early 1700s, dinner time kept getting later and later. Dinners wouldn’t even begin until 8:30pm. Sounds more like bedtime to me. [yawns]

By the way, do you know a clock’s favorite part of dinner? It's seconds. [drum riff and children laugh]

But anyway, Pierre and his cousins were already getting ready for bed as their parents were heading out. Pierre fell asleep quickly after his busy day, but he woke up again in the middle of the night. His cousins were all sound asleep. The nanny was even snoring. Curious, he wandered into his mother’s bedroom, and she wasn’t there. There, in the dark, Pierre’s imagination started to run wild. [dramatic trumpets play] Shouldn’t his parents have been back already? [trumpets continue]

[Dramatic classical music]

What if something terrible had happened? What if they were never coming back at all? He had to know what time it was, then he would know how worried he should be. But it was so late, he couldn’t see the face of the clock, and he wasn’t allowed to use matches and light a candle on his own. Luckily for Pierre, our clockmaker, Charles Voisin, had prepared for such a situation. [voice says “Aha!”] You see, our clock had a special trick to it. We had a cord that went from the clock and hung over the bed, and when Pierre pulled it, we rang the nearest hour, and then the nearest 15 minutes. [musical clock tune] It was almost 11:00. Pierre gave a sigh of relief. [voice says “Phew.”] The dinner wasn’t even over. Of course, his parents weren’t back yet. In fact, Pierre realized if he woke his cousins up, they would have even more time to play before the parents arrived home. Haven’t you heard? Time flies when you’re having fun. [children laugh]

[Theme music begins]

Host: I hope you enjoyed learning about the history of telling time. Join us next time when a sleepyhead—I mean, sleepy bed—joins us in the studio. [voice yawns] To see photographs of the dragon clock, visit our website at Getty dot edu slash IOCT. We’ve also got a listening guide with discussion questions and related activities there.

This episode was written by Claire Hupy and produced by Zoe Goldman. Wendell Johnson voiced the dragon. Theme music, mixing, and sound design by Alexandra Kalinowski. Christopher Sprinkle is executive producer. Special thanks to curators Anne-Lise Desmas and Miriam Schefzyk, as well as Rebekkah Hart.

These stories are historical fiction. They’re based on historical facts and deep research, but we’ve filled in the gaps to make a good story. If you have questions about what you’ve heard, write to us at podteam at getty dot edu. Catch you next time.