The time is here! On Monday, November 3, the Walters Art Museum is celebrating its fourth annual Day of Giving. To commemorate the 91st birthday of our museum and its conservation lab—the third oldest in the country—make a tangible impact on the objects in our collection that need pressing treatment and research with a gift of any size.

The Walters’ extraordinary collection encompasses some 36,000 objects that span more than seven millennia. Protecting and preserving these objects is a vital part of the museum’s mission to bring art and people together for enjoyment, discovery, and learning.

The Walters Day of Giving is the perfect opportunity to come together and give a gift to the next generation of museum-goers. This year, we’re asking for your help to reach our goal of raising $15,000 in one day toward critical conservation work on this year’s featured object: an extraordinary gilded clock currently undergoing treatment by our conservators.

Every gift makes an impact and supports the work of the conservation team at the Walters. Plus, when you make a gift now through November 3, your impact will be doubled thanks to a generous matching pledge. Time is ticking. Make your contribution today!

More About This Year’s Conservation Object

This year, our conservators are hard at work cleaning and preserving an 18th-century French rococo clock. This highly ornamental object is more than just a timepiece; it’s a testament to the dedication, craftsmanship, and imagination of its makers.

A photo of a large, gilded 18th-century French rococo clock

When fully assembled, this 18th-century clock stands almost 40 inches tall.

The clock case was created sometime around 1750 by Jean-Joseph de Saint-Germain, one of the most important makers of gilt bronzes working in Paris at the time. The clock’s theme is a celebration of music. In addition to the elaborate scrollwork and vegetal decoration, the case features six figures either playing or listening to music: a man and woman at the bottom in 18th-century dress, two putti (cherubs) on the sides, and a man and woman at the top in ancient Greek or Roman dress.

A close-up view of the bottom of a gilded clock case

At the bottom center of the case sits a book of music so finely cast that it can be read (and played) today.

Once the exquisite case was complete, it was likely sent to Saxony, where its elaborate German-made mechanism was inserted. The complicated mechanism allows the clock to strike on the hour or quarter hour, tell the date, tell the lunar phase via a lunar calendar, and play one of ten different musical compositions that can be selected by moving the large hand at the top.

A close-up view of the clock's music mechanism and face

The dials on the right and left sides of the mechanism allow the clock’s chime and music to be turned on and off.

Henry Walters acquired this large clock in 1924, but before that, it may have had a royal connection. The clock is purported to have been sold by the royal house of Saxony from the palace in Dresden in the early 20th century. While this provenance has yet to be confirmed, it adds to the object’s intrigue. Initial research suggests that a German aristocrat, possibly Augustus III (1695-1763), King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, may have commissioned or been given this important example of French design and had it fitted out with an equally impressive German mechanism. While more research is needed to confirm its origins, it is clear that such a beautiful clock should be preserved for the ages.

Senior Objects Conservator Gregory Bailey cleaning the top of the clock with a small brush

Senior Objects Conservator Gregory Bailey removes dirt and debris from the clock’s heavily ornamented case.

Gregory Bailey, Senior Objects Conservator, has painstakingly cleaned this heavily ornamented clock and is repairing small cracks and losses to the enamel clock face. He is also replacing the green silk that would have covered the interior of the sound panels on the clock sides, as well as reattaching the replacement putto (cherub) on the right side of the clock (made after the original went missing sometime in the 1970s).

Senior Objects Conservator Gregory Bailey shows an area where green silk has disintegrated inside the clock.

Bailey points out the area where he is working to replace the clock’s tattered green silk.

These interventions will help the clock shine when it is included in On Time: Giving Form to the Fleeting, an exhibition at Hillwood Estate, Museum, and Gardens in Washington, D.C., in spring 2026. When it returns to the Walters, our curators are planning to feature it alongside other 18th- and 19th-century works, which will go on view in a major reinstallation of Hackerman House at 1 West Mount Vernon Place in 2027.

Help us reach our goal of raising $15,000 this year to preserve this object and many others. Time is short, so don’t delay. A gift of just $15 will make an impact now and for generations to come!

Walters Day of Giving 2025

Celebrating art conservation at the Walters Art Museum