AN ORMOLU AND PASTE-SET STRIKING AND MUSICAL CLOCK QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD

the richly gilt upright case of rectangular section resting on a square base with four splayed acanthus corner feet joined by stretchers adorned with entwined ribbons and florets, supported at each corner by columns picked out with striations and culmintating in furled acanthus leaves, further inset with alternating ruby-coloured and white brilliants along the edges, the central panel enclosing a painted 3 1/4-inch dial with both Roman and Arabic numerals and reticulated engraved gilt hands, the green and white paste-set bezel with convex glass further surrounded by an applied ruby and green-coloured beads frame, the sides pierced in openwork with an upright oval medallion of petalled flowers further decorated with red and green paste-set at each corner, the back arched door with lattice openwork, opening to reveal the principal three-day duration, five pillars, triple-chain fusees movement with verge escapement and hour striking on a bell, half-hour-passing strikes and two-tone music on eight bells, the back plates engraved with foliate stems and cornucopia, all below a pagoda roof finely incised with tassels and inset with paste-set florets, culminating with a bell tower enclosing a ten-bell carillon, two accompanying keys

Some glass beads have probably been restuck or replaced, but most have been well preserved. The clock is otherwise in overall very good condition with only some typical tarnishing, occasional scratches and original casting flaws. The movement is generally in good condition and working order with only the small hammer missing for the half hour passing strike.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

The Qianlong emperor was an avid collector of timepieces and automatons and his enthusiasm for both European and Chinese-made clocks saw him assemble thousands of varying mesmerising and exquisitely novel designs. The great variety of media employed for the manufacturing of clocks is well illustrated in the Palace Museum, Beijing publication, The 200 Objects You Should Know. Timepieces, Beijing, 2007, including one of related architectural form and splayed feet, pl. 89. A closely related clock also in the Palace Museum, Beijing, is included in Lu Yangzhen, ed., Timepieces Collected by the Qing Emperors in the Palace Museum, Hong Kong, 1995, p. 170. Compare a richly embellished example of related form, from the Nezu Museum, Tokyo, sold at Christie’s Hong Kong, 27^th May 2008, lot 1511.

Yang Boda, in the exhibition catalogue Tributes from Guangdong to the Qing Court, Hong Kong, 1987, pp. 55 and 63, notes that a large number of musical clocks were presented to the court by officials in Guangdong in the early and middle Qing period due to the great demand. He writes that ‘the Qing emperors lived and worked under the chimes of their clocks’ with a clock ‘in every hall, on every wall and on every table’. He suggests that while most of those presented for tribute between 1790 and 1794 were probably imported from London, some might have been assembled in Guangzhou, as some of the Guangzhou copies were so close to the European originals.