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Vienna, around 1777
- signed
- “Fr. David a. St. Cajetano Ord. St. Augs. Disc. in Wienn”
- Clockmaker
- Frater David a San(cto) Cajetano (Ru(e)tschmann)
- *1726 Lembach/Black Forest, 1754 joined Order of St. Augustine, †1796 Court Monastery, Vienna
- Case
- with walnut, walnut burl wood, fruit wood and maple marqueteries, gilt wood fillets
- Dial
- engraved ormolu front, ormolu mounts, silver-plated dial ring, 11 silver-plated subsidiary dials
main plane of the dial: 12 hour dial ring with hour, minute and central seconds hand as well as moon date (synodic period) with central hand with lunar disc;
four subsidiary dials for indication of days of the week, months with signs of the zodiac, sidereal time and Italian time
pediment plane of the dial: three larger subsidiary dials for the months with sunrise and sunset times and zodiac signs, for the date and for the Draconic month (dragon month) with lunar declination and dragon-shaped hand;
four small subsidiary dials for turning off the carillon, for turning off the strike, for muffling the strike and for fine adjustment, spherical ormolu moon phase, partly dark-blue colored - Movement
- unique movement with complex wheel train! Graham escapement, three weights, hour strike on bell and quarter strike by carillon with seven bells, repeater
- Height
- 102 ¾ in
provenance: up to 1835 in the Habsburg Court Monastery Vienna, since then in private Austrian ownership
illustrated in: H. Killian: David a San Cajetano. Mönch, Uhrmacher und Genie, in: Klassik Uhren. Journal für Sammler klassischer Zeitmesser, 1996, no. 3, p. 37.
F. Kaltenböck: Die Mechanik der Cajetano-Uhren, in: Klassik Uhren. Journal für Sammler klassischer Zeitmesser, 1996, no. 4, p. 39 a. 40.
Frater David a San Cajetano (David Ru(e)tschmann) is one of the most important clockmakers in the history of Viennese horology and, thanks to his extraordinary achievements, contributed significantly to establishing Vienna as an international clockmaking center.
Born on October 5, 1726, in Lembach in the Black Forest, Ru(e)tschmann trained as a carpenter. His journeyman years took him to Vienna in 1746, where he entered the Augustinian monastery of Mariabrunn (Vienna Penzing) in 1754, adopting the religious name David a San(c)to Cajetano. Due to his exceptional skills, he was appointed to the Habsburg Court Monastery at the Hofburg in Vienna in 1760. This allowed him to attend lectures in mathematics and mechanics at the university and to delve deeply into astronomy.
With his superior mathematical and technical genius, Cajetano acquired unparalleled knowledge of horology, developing breathtakingly complex clock mechanisms. This enabled him to construct much more accurate displays of the complicated movements of celestial bodies. From 1760 to 1769, Cajetano created his first astronomical clock for the Habsburg Court Monastery of the Augustinians, which is now housed in the Vienna Clock Museum. Around 1777, a second timepiece for the Court Monastery, personally crafted by Cajetano, was completed – a magnificent astronomical longcase clock, which we have the honor of presenting here. Unlike his first clock from 1769 (now at the Vienna Clock Museum), this clock retains most of its original case. Cajetano, who also worked as an “Arcularius” (Latin for “carpenter”) for the Augustinians, likely played a significant role in crafting the intricately veneered case.
Two more astronomical longcase clocks are attributed to Cajetano, designed by him but executed by other clockmakers. One of these was made around 1793 for Emperor Francis II by master clockmaker Ignatz Berlinger and is now on display at the Austrian President‘s residence in the Hofburg. The other is the so-called “Schwarzenberg Clock,” which was commissioned by Prince Schwarzenberg and is still in the family‘s possession. It was executed by Cajetano’s nephew, the famous clockmaker Joseph Ruetschmann, depending on the source in 1786 or 1793.
For his groundbreaking research, Cajetano was appointed a corresponding member of the academies in Vienna, Berlin, and St. Petersburg. His significance to the history of the Augustinian Order is highlighted by his inclusion in the 1775 ceiling fresco by Johann Bergl in the library hall of the Court Monastery (now the Augustinian Reading Room of the Austrian National Library). In this fresco, Frater Cajetano is depicted with an armillary sphere and a goniometer, symbolizing astronomy.
As the only one of the four clocks created or designed by Cajetano, this timepiece is equipped with a central seconds hand and a quarter-hour chime by a carillon with seven bells. The exceptional movement drives a variety of displays through a complex wheel train. The impressive dial features a large chapter ring for the hour, minute, seconds, and moon date (synodic lunar period of 29 days), as well as 11 subsidiary dials and a spherical moon phase display. The indications include three larger subdials for the monthly calendar with zodiac signs and sunrise and sunset times, the Draconic Month with a dragon-shaped hand, and the current date with semi-circular arranged digits. Four smaller dials around the main dial show the days of the week with astrological symbols, the months with zodiac signs, Italian time (24 hours measured from sunset), and sideral time (24 sidereal-hours – slightly shorter than the solar day). The four smallest subdials are used for turning off the chime as well as the carillon, for muffling the chime, and for the fine adjustment of the movement.
In 1835, about a year before the dissolution of the Augustinian Court Monastery, the two Cajetano clocks located there were sold. The fist one made its way into the collection of the Vienna Clock Museum; however, the present timepiece went directly into private Austrian ownership and is now available for sale for the first time in nearly 200 years.