WPS member · Horological Meandering forum
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Cazalea takes readers on a fascinating journey through the Rijksmuseum Boerhaave in Leiden, offering a unique perspective on the intersection of horology, science, and history. His detailed account highlights significant horological exhibits, including early pendulum clocks and orrery machines, alongside other technological marvels. This post provides a valuable glimpse into Dutch innovation and cultural heritage.
As we continued with our first week in Amsterday, the coach carried us off to the Rijksmuseum Boerhaave in Leiden. This is not a museum dedicated exclusively to clocks, but to all sorts of technology, medicine, anatomy, history and so forth. We had to walk a few blocks to reach the museum (no parking). But that was okay with us.
We had a guide pre-arranged here, an expert on old Dutch clocks, and we proceeded through the rooms in two small groups.
They had lots of astronomical things as well as the first pendulum clock (some dispute over this claim) designed (but not built) by Dutchman (but living in France) Christiaan Huygens.
I think this was the FIRST PENDULUM CLOCK
More orrery / planetarium machines in every direction. Some 500 years old!
As the tour progressed we went into the anatomy and medical section. I went outside instead, as I have a history of fainting when looking at /smelling body parts in jars of formaldehyde.
These nice items don't make me ill.
I like cold metal vs squishy stuff.
There were rooms on hydraulic power, dikes, computers, etc. Sorry for the gap in the pictures, but after an hour or two the rest of the group emerged, we got into the sunlight and I began to feel better.
I found a shop selling 1 meter boxes of OREO cookies, and bought some to share on the bus ride home.
We stopped at a Delft factory (yes, 32 people work here; it's like an AHCI workshop)
The director gave us a tour of the area where they paint, then fire the clay. This is often a reddish clay lightened by successive layers of glaze, then decorate with a black paint that turns blue at high temperature. The 4-color plates require additional sessions in the kiln.
Note that this is pottery (similar to stoneware) and not porcelain. It is thicker and not translucent. Many of their artists work from home and carry their assignments back and forth to the office.
These are the molds in which the various bare vases, dishes and novelties are poured.
Much like you would make a hollow chocolate bunny, they pour liquid clay into the mold, slosh it around, let it cool a bit, and pour out the excess.
Then workers trim, finish, polish, etc until the blanks are ready to be painted.
They can sketch freehand or trace depending on the skill of the painter.
These are in the middle of the process waiting to be fired again when they will turn blue.
We went into the gift shop, a few thousand Euro changed from one hand to the other, and we left to see more beautiful cityscapes on our way home.
Please come back for Part 5
