17.02.2022

The story about Jaquemarts under the heading "Audio stories"

A story about Jaquemarts* - mechanical figures (automata) that strike the bell at a certain frequency: every hour, half an hour or a quarter of an hour is under the heading  "Audio Stories"  today.

Jacquemarts are mechanical figures (automata) that strike the bell with a certain frequency: every hour, half an hour or a quarter of an hour. They were made from wood, sometimes – from bronze. The figures were made in the shape of often given the appearance of sentinels in armor, biblical heroes and other medieval characters.

The life of medieval cities was filled with all sorts of sounds. The ringing of bells occupied a special place in the general incessant rumble. To a certain extent, the rhythm of life in cities was set by town clock towers with bells; industry and trade in the city depended on them. Later, when financial markets emerged, the bell and clock became an important element of marketplace trading, and remain so to the present time. Initially, there was a sentry on the clock tower who was responsible for the hourly striking - he periodically hit the bell at the right time. Then the clock mechanism was developed, a hammer was integrated into it, and tower sentinels were relieved of their duty. By the 14th century, Jaquemarts replaced them.

The further history of automata (Jaquemarts) developed in such a way that the 18th century - the golden age of mechanics - became the period of time when the art of producing of mechanical dolls flourishing. Artisans created the most complex clocks with whimsical compositions, in which several automata were involved. Later, Jaquemarts appear in pocket watches.

The museum Collection exposition features a variety of clocks and watches, some of them with built-in Jaquemarts. Wall clocks dating back to the 16th century, an impressive number of pocket watch models of the late 18th - early 20th centuries and even the rarest Signet ring with watch insert and repeater.
You can examine these items in detail on the museum website in the section "Clocks and Items with Movement".

* Jacquemarts (Fr. Jaquemarts, Eng. Jack) are moving figures of clock/watch mechanisms that strike time (in tower clocks and long-case clocks), or imitate it (in pocket and wristwatches).