A RARE GLASS PASTE-EMBELLISHED WALL CLOCK QING DYNASTY, QIANLONG PERIOD

of bottle vase shape, the exterior set with paste gems in red, green and blue, the red paste gems forming five bats along the edges, the dial bordered with a beaded edge

Beautifully embellished with colourful glass inlays and set with a flat back, the present clock belongs to a group of decorative vases made to hang on the interior wall of a carriage, where they served not only as a functional timepiece but also as a work of art for appreciation.

The present lot is exceptional amongst vases of similar type. The craftsman's prudent eye for detail and unlimited creativity were demonstrated through an ingeniously planned composition concealed amongst the seemingly random inlays. The pear-shaped form of the vase is cleverly defined and bordered by five bats made from ruby-red coloured paste stones, forming an auspicious pun of wufu (five blessings). Whilst being an object quintessentially stemming from a Chinese tradition, the current wall vase was set in the centre with a timepiece of English origin. The current movement is believed to be a work by the famous English watchmaker from Edinburgh, Thomas Reid (1746-1831).

Compare an eighteenth-century example among the collections of the National Palace Museum, Taipei, illustrated in the exhibition catalogue Limpid Radiance: A Special Exhibition of Glass Artifacts from the National Palace Museum Collection, Taipei, 2016, pp. 136-137, cat. no. 155. Both in its irregular pebble-form inlays and apron-shaped foot, the present lot shares remarkable similarities with that in the National Palace Museum. Another closely related wall clock, inset with a very similar movement and attributed to the Qianlong period, was sold at Christie's London, 10th November 2015, lot 75.