German Colonial Clock
Date
Production: circa World War I
Object Name
Inventory Number
C.2016.027.001
Physical Description
Painted clock with stylised crest and feet. A circular face is set into the clock with one dial of Roman numerals and one with Arabic numerals. The times in different parts of the German Empire, such as Kamerun (now Cameroon) and Western Samoa (now Samoa) are listed. The clock’s case is decorated with tropical scenes, including snakes, palm trees and an elephant. It also features symbols of German power, such as the imperial eagle and a German navy gunboat, as well as patriotic slogans related to imperial expansion.
Content Description
At the end of the 19th century, the race to acquire colonial territories created tensions among several European nations. This clock was produced at the height of the German Empire’s push for overseas colonies, a process described in Germany as a search for ‘a place in the sun’. Established global empires, such as the British Empire, felt that their foreign interests were threatened by Germany, whose global importance was growing and which was set to become the strongest industrial power in Europe. Colonial war was narrowly avoided several times – in 1898, in eastern Africa between Britain and France, and in 1911, in Morocco between a united France and Britain on one side and Germany on the other. Colonial tensions such as these served to accelerate the formation of two hostile alliance blocs on the continent prior to World War I.
Keywords
Exhibition Theme
2B. Europe in ruins (1914-1945) -> 2B.1. World War I -> 2B.1.1. Causes of war (on display)
Material / Technique
Painted metal, glass, and wood.
Dimensions
H x W x D 38,00 x 31,50 x 15,00 cm
Curator’s Note
This clock shows the competition that emerged between the European powers at the end of the 19th century in the colonial arena. In the race to establish an overseas empire, Germany was far behind the French and the British. Its colonial ambitions, driven by Kaiser Wilhelm II’s ‘Weltpolitik’ (world policy), therefore put it in direct competition with these established powers, especially Britain, whose vast global empire was built on the strength of its navy. Naval power was understood as central to the exercise of imperial power, as attested by the presence on this clock of a German navy gunboat and the slogan ‘Unsere Zukunft liegt auf dem Wasser’ (Our Future lies on the water). This phrase was used by Wilhelm II in speeches at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, such as in Stettin (now Szczecin) in September 1898. Two decorative devices link this clock to the British Queen Victoria Jubilee plate (C.2015.040.001), also in the collection of the House of European History. Both objects use the clock dial to illustrate the different time zones of the imperial territory and hence showcase its extent. For the British plate, 12 zones are filled – one for each hour of the dial. In this German clock however, the relatively small size of the German Empire is shown by the fact that only seven spaces are filled on a 24-hour dial. Both objects also use variations of the phrase the ‘Empire on which the sun never sets’ (Kein Sonnen-Untergang in unserem Reich) indicating the direct competitive ambitions of the two powers in the realm of imperial expansion.
Inscription
Decoration
"Kein Sonnen-Untergang in unserem Reich” & “Unsere Zukunft liegt auf dem Wasser"
Credit line
Acquired 2016. EU, EP, House of European History, Brussels
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