Object Timeline
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Z Clock
This is a clock. It was designed by Gilbert Rohde. It is dated 1934. Its medium is bent chrome-plated tubular brass, enameled brass, plate glass. It is a part of the Product Design and Decorative Arts department.
Rohde began designing clocks for Herman Miller after creating a distinctive line of clocks for the company in 1933 for the Chicago World Fair. This "Z Clock" (No. 4090) was pictured in the company’s 1934 catalogue, “20th Century Modern Furniture, Designed by Gilbert Rohde,” which was one of the first American trade catalogues devoted to modernist design.[1] Rohde used the No. 4090 as a complement to his modernist interiors in the catalogue. The zigzag tubular chrome-plated support of the clock echoes his tubular chair designs for the Troy Sunshade Company, which were also produced during the early- to mid-1930s. The minimalist form of this clock concentrates the eye on tubular steel, one of the great advancements and material markers of modernism. The outline of the clock shows reductive rigor and also energy in its angularity that celebrates the cantilever, frame, and suspension principles that tubular steel made possible.
[1] Phyllis Ross, Gilbert Rohde: Modern Design for Modern Living (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2009), 122.
This object was
donated by
George R. Kravis II.
It is credited Gift of George R. Kravis II.
- Model 4083A Clock Clock
- glass, chrome-plated metal, metal, enamel.
- Gift of George R. Kravis II.
- 2015-5-3
- Poster, Atoms for Peace, General Dynamics
- offset lithograph on paper.
- Gift of Arthur Cohen and Daryl Otte in memory of Bill Moggridge.
- 2013-42-11
- Model 86T Rocking Stool Stool
- birch, chrome-plated steel.
- Gift of George R. Kravis II.
- 2016-5-13
Our curators have highlighted 3 objects that are related to this one.
![Here we have four technical drawings on one sheet of paper: a perspective drawing in the top right corner and three elevation views on the left side, bottom left corner, and bottom middle. The piece in question is a cleverly designed two-tiered end table. Its supporting frame is made of tubular metal and is two different height of capital 'L' shapes. These L shapes are as if the long ends of the letter are laid horizontally, while the shorter end are the 'legs.' The L shapes overlap each other with two different side heights creating the two tiers, with the bottom tier poking out slightly from underneath the top. The overall table shape is most prominent in the top right drawing, a perspective drawing, the picture drawn from above at an angle. The elevation drawings show only the sides: the elevation on the left side of the page is the top view and looks like two squares with parallel lines on the top and bottom borders. Beneath and to the right are lines with arrows and numbers indicating height. The bottom left drawing elevation is the right side view of the table and displays the two overlapping 'L' shaped frames prominently with thin parallel lines. To the right, a line with arrows reads 18', indicating the height. On the other side of the height indication is the front elevation view of the table, and it has two curving 'U' shapes, indicating the metal frame touching the floor and a slight line for the table top. Surrounding all of the drawings is a square pencil border mimicking the paper size. Underneath is a long rectangle border with numbers, lines and words reading: [Scale 1 = 1'0, Revised 11/19/34] on the right side, [Metallon] on the left, and [6265, 18x30] written in a small circle on the lower right corner. There is a small red P above the long rectangle as well.](https://images.collection.cooperhewitt.org/341942_667ea281e8f433a0_n.jpg "Drawing, Design for Metallon End Table")
- Drawing, Design for Metallon End Table
- graphite on tracing paper.
- Gift of Donald Deskey.
- 1988-101-1253
- Table Lamp
- chrome-plated steel, brass.
- Gift of George R. Kravis II.
- 2015-41-11
- M-1, Type B2 Clock, ca. 1928
- chromium-plated and enameled metal, molded bakelite, brushed-burnished silver.
- Gift of George R. Kravis II.
- 2015-41-1
Its dimensions are
H x W x D: 30.5 × 32 × 9 cm (12 in. × 12 5/8 in. × 3 9/16 in.)
Cite this object as
Z Clock; Designed by Gilbert Rohde (American, 1894–1944); bent chrome-plated tubular brass, enameled brass, plate glass; H x W x D: 30.5 × 32 × 9 cm (12 in. × 12 5/8 in. × 3 9/16 in.); Gift of George R. Kravis II; 2018-22-76
This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Energizing the Everyday: Gifts From the George R. Kravis II Collection.
