First domestic clocks appear Domestic clocks first appear in the courts of Europe during the Renaissance (the period covering the 1400s through the 1500s). Essentially, these were miniaturised versions of the medieval turret (or tower) clocks found in cathedrals and town centres. The development of early domestic clocks was a court-driven phenomenon fuelled by the competition and conspicuous consumption of the European ruling class. In Europe’s courts, monarchs and aristocrats actively coveted and gifted objects of splendour, and clocks were seen as one of the latest technological marvels. See the German Gothic clock, made around 1500 and exhibited on Clocktime, for an example of one of these early Continental European domestic clocks. Read more about the first domestic clocks in the Clocktime article The first timekeepers: Telling time before the pendulum clock. Further Reading Koeppe, W. 2019. ‘Clocks and automata: The art of technical development’ in Koeppe, W. (editor). Making Marvels: Science and splendour at the courts of Europe. New York, NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art, pp. 195–203.