The watch was created by Ippolito Marsili. It was a new method which was used in order to make the victims comfess without torturing them cruelly. The alleged guilty person had to stay awake for long, in this way it was the torture of sleep. The convict was hoisted over the top of the pyramid and he was repeatedly and violently pulled down. Consequently the watch was named, mostly in Germany, "the Judas Cradle".

Private Collection

Museum of the Royal House of Portugal