Clepsydras: Gifts Fit For Kings
Title:
Manuscript of al-Jazari’s Water-powered Elephant Clock
Artist:
Calligrapher Farrukh ibn `Abd al-Latif
Author Badi' al-Zaman ibn al-Razzaz al-Jazari
Date:
1206
Medium:
Watercolor, gold, and ink on paper
Credit: Cora Timken Burnett, Alpine, NJ (by 1932–d. 1956; bequeathed to MMA)
This manuscript is from renowned engineer al-Jazari’s “The Book of Knowledge of Ingenious Mechanical Devices,” which was published in 1206. Al-Jazari’s book featured rich illustrations, such as the one displayed here, alongside intricately detailed instructions on how to build each invention and explanations on how each component would function. The manuscript resides in New York at the Metropolitan museum of art. This lavish clock’s mechanics demonstrates an understanding of advanced technologies for its time, such as gravity, hinges, pulleys and gears. This clepsydra, or water clock, was inspired by the clepsydra gifted to Roman emperor Charlemagne by Abbasid caliph Harun al Rashid. Not only was this an enriching exchange of culture, but a start to a significant political relationship between the two rulers, bringing the two communities together.