About this artwork
Wendell Castle’s Magician’s Birthday is one of 13 clocks the innovative craftsman made to explore the nature and mysteries of time. He constructed this 4-faced, 12-legged clock as a hatted magician playing tricks with time, toying with the symbols and tools used to measure it. The hours are not found where one expects them—encircling the hands of the clock—but instead hanging on the 12 legs. “By saying the magic word,” says Castle, “they’ll jump back on the face.”
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Status
- On View, Gallery 161
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Department
- Arts of the Americas
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Artist
- Wendell Castle
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Title
- Magician's Birthday
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Place
- Scottsville (Object made in:)
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Date
- 1984
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Medium
- Ebonized cherry, rosewood, and gold-plated brass
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Inscriptions
- Incised mark in form of cypher, back of clock movement: (see file for picture) Sticker on back: "2 6,9"; "ORIGIN Kieninger MADE IN GERMANY" Sticker to left: "No 10 Jewels unadjusted" Sticker to right: "84K 116C"
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Dimensions
- 233.7 × 54.6 × 54.6 cm (91 × 21 1/2 × 21 1/2 in.)
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Credit Line
- J. Peter McCormick Fund
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Reference Number
- 1991.38
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.
