21. Cow Clock

Made in Poland to Ausberg, Bavaria design. The cow’s eyes move from side to side. When the hand on the top is turned, the milkmaid ‘milks’ the cow, and liquid held inside the cow is pumped into a bucket. A hole in the top of the cow’s back allows the reservoir to be filled. In the last quarter of the 16^th C the fashion for automata reached its height at the European courts and with rich customers in the Ottoman Empire. The ‘Tribute to the Sublime Gate’  began in 1548 as payment from the Holy Roman Emperor to Suleiman the Magnificent to prevent an Ottoman invasion of Europe. Automata such as this formed part of the tribute. This clock was made between 1575 and 1585 and is 25 cms in diameter.