He had been exhibiting his wares since at least 1769, though the official museum opened only in February, 1772. If he was, he would have mentioned it as he did not hesitate to explicitly and/or indirectly refers to the works of Hero, Philo, Archimedes, Banu Musa, al-Muradi and Ridwan al-Sa’ati– drawing upon the technical achievements and mechanical peculiarities of their works even while noting very quickly how he has tried to further refine and more importantly, depart from their mechanisms. They would tell time, but would also look pleasing, make musical sounds and generate entertaining movements of a mechanical puppet theatre of human figurines, beasts and birds. There is a disc behind the roundels, and half of its edge is painted red, and the other half is cut away. We have a wide range of beautiful products that are very popular among people who love to decorate their homes.

Hermitage hall with famous Peacock Clock opens to visitors Hermitage hall with famous Peacock Clock opens to visitors

I like to express thanks to Dr Terrence M P Dugan of Akdeniz University for reminding me of the Peacock clock mentioned in the 1001Nights tales and also to Mr Avi Golan who pointed out his recent work on the physical construction of the mechanism of Al-Jazari’s peacock clock shown in this video. At the bottom of this reservoir is a short channel, with an onyx at its free end for water to flow out on to the tipping bucket. The actual dial of the clock is hidden in a mushroom, and a squirrel, fox, and other creatures can be spied among the metal foliage.Al-Jazari does not explain why he chose a Peacock in this clock and in his handwashing device ( wudhu’ machine).

Peacock Clock - Etsy Peacock Clock - Etsy

Since the 18th century, it has been delighting visitors with its spectacle of three singing birds—an owl, a peacock, and a rooster—and is now the only large example of 18th-century robotics to have survived unaltered into the 21st century.

The clock was made by the famous British jeweler James Cox in the 1770s and purchased for the Hermitage collection by Catherine the Great. We know, for example, that Caliph Harun al-Rashid gifted a water clock to Charlemagne (the Holy Roman Emperor) that fascinated him and his court in Aachen. At the end of this paper are fully labelled diagrams of the clock and should be used as a reference for all components.