In her right hand the First Hour of the Day holds a flaming torch on high, or she does in prints of the fresco. In her left she holds several roses. The Hour before her in the endless circling dance, the Sixth Hour of the Night, is the time when birds, including swans, begin to sing in anticipation of the Dawn. Now she has arrived, first light of the day, the time when flowers begin to open. While she is not the sole Hour with both breasts bared—the Third Hour of the Day also has a completely undraped torso—here this feature adds to the overall impression of newness, of freshness. Hebe, the goddess who represents youth, also is frequently shown in this manner.
To date, we have not seen a truly excellent rendition of this Hour; the example to the right does capture this Hour better than most, but one could wish for stronger looking arms. Few qualify even as reasonably faithful to the original. As has been mentioned in some of the other articles on the Hours, those that require extra space above the head appear less frequently than some of those that better lend themselves to the standard oval proportions. She is most likely to show up on a bracelet panel, and then altered by lowering the raised arm to fit her in to the frame. The torch does not always survive the change.
The porcelain manufacturer Meissen recognized the beauty of the Hours. One of their urns is shown in the article on the Third Hour of the Day, and its mate is among the examples of the Fourth Hour of the Night. The First Hour of the Day lights up this potpourri.
Although these figures, with their garlands of flowers, are no doubt meant to be Aurora, goddess of the Dawn, they were surely influenced by their Hourly counterpart.
