http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/06/fashion/clocks-galerie-j-kugel-paris.html 2016-09-05 17:49:17 ‘A Mechanical Bestiary’, With Time Galerie J. Kugel is organizing a display of rare Renaissance-era automaton clocks. === PARIS — “Who is ticking?” Alexis Kugel playfully asked a group of ornate animal figures in his palatial antiques gallery at the historic Hôtel Collot. The figures make up Some pieces came from the Kugel family collection, which Mr. Kugel recalls playing with as a child: “I probably broke one or two, forcing the needle so it would animate.” Others were found by Mr. Kugel and his brother Nicolas, both fifth-generation antiques dealers. The technology for automaton clocks dates to Heron of Alexandria, the ancient Greek mathematician who wrote extensively about mechanics. Their popularity surged during the Renaissance, when many were made in Augsburg, Germany, the artistic center of Bavaria at the time. “If you couldn’t afford a real elephant or lion for your menagerie, then you could compromise with one of these,” Mr. Kugel said.