Page 96 - 2020 December 1 Bonhams Hong Kong, Eternal Music in Chinese art

39
AN IMPERIAL BEIJING GILT-METAL AND PORCELAIN
ALARM CLOCK
Qianlong
The circular gilt-metal case meticulously pierced on the sides with the
Eight Buddhist Emblems, bajixiang, surmounted by a hinged cover, the
clock comprised of a porcelain dial inscribed in black enamel with the
twelve Chinese hours, shichen, each hour dived into eight segments, a
central metal alarm disc which can be rotated to set the alarm, a single
hand pointing to the twelve hours, the gilt base with two apertures,
one aperture can be dialled to secure the movement of the alarm, next
to which is incised with a zhong ‘clock’ character, the other aperture
can be dialled to secure the movement of the hand.
12cm (4 3/4in) diam. (2).

HKD700,000 - 900,000
Image courtesy of Palace Museum, Beijing US$90,000 - 120,000
北京故宮博物院藏
清乾隆 御製銅鎏金八吉祥二十四時辰醒鐘

Provenance:
Christie’s Hong Kong, 28 May 2014, lot 3342 (offered)

來源：
佳士得香港，2014年5月28日，拍品編號3342（上拍）

The present alarm clock is a rare example of clockmaking at the 鐘圓柱形，錶盤白色琺瑯質，墨彩繪十二時辰刻度及漢字十二支，中
Imperial Workshops in Beijing. Compare with an identical alarm clock 心銅製指針，指針下銅盤陰刻填朱十二時辰初、正兩部分，鐘套銅鎏
in the Palace Museum, Beijing, early Qianlong period, made before 金，外殼鏤空刻八吉祥番蓮如意雲紋，底部發條三孔，鏨刻一「鐘」
1748 by the Imperial Clockmaking Workshop within the Palace in 字。
Beijing. For a detailed discussion, see Lu Yanzhen, ed., Zhongbiao
jianshang yu shoucang, Changchun, 1994, pp.36-37, illustrated by 本件醒鐘有濃厚的中國風格，應為宮中做鐘處所作，北京故宮藏有一
Liao Pin, Clocks and Watches of the Qing Dynasty from the Collection 件紫銅質清乾隆十二時辰醒鐘，被定為乾隆早期清宮造辦處之作，與
in the Forbidden City, Beijing, 2002, p.40, no.10. 本件極似，鐘套周圍鏤雕八寶紋，順序是輪、傘、腸、螺、花、罐、
魚、蓋，按八寶排列順序，有學者認為是乾隆十年（1745年）以前製
According to the Imperial Household Archives, the Kangxi emperor, 作，相關討論見陸燕真編著，《鐘錶鑒賞與收藏》，長春，1994年，
intrigued by foreign timepieces, decided to set up an Office of 頁36及37，圖像見廖頻編，《清宮鐘錶集萃—北京故宮珍藏》，北
zimingzhongchu or ‘self-ringing bells’ to store his Western-style clocks. 京，2002，圖版10，頁40。
The Office later became the zaozhongchu, an Imperial Workshop
for the Jesuit clockmakers, painters and engravers to work with 清宮早在康熙年間便在宮中設立了自鳴鐘處，雍正時期改為做鐘處，
other craftsmen to produce timepieces for the Qing court. By 1773, 乾隆二年（1737）正月，做鐘處開始擴充規模，首領趙進忠向内務府
under the administration of the Imperial Household Department, 大臣海王報告：「本處所造自鳴鐘錶甚多，作房窄小，欲在後院内蓋
the workshop further expanded with a total of nine studios in the 房三間。」見《清宮内務府造辦處檔案總匯》，第七冊，北京，2005
Palace. For a detailed discussion about Imperial clockmaking during 年，頁779。至乾隆三十八年，做鐘處作房至少有房九間，頗具規
the Qianlong period, see Guo Fuxiang, ‘Investigation of the Imperial 模，見前書，第36冊，頁840。處内的工匠有外國傳教士、外募役匠
Collection of Timepieces during the Qianlong Reign (1736-1795)’, in 及做鐘太監，其中佼佼者便有前文提到之趙進忠，相關討論參見郭福
Journal of Gugong Studies, issue 7, Beijing, 2011, pp.225-252. 祥著，《乾隆時期宮廷鐘表收藏考述》，載於《故宮學刊》，第七
輯，北京，2011年，頁225-252。
Since the Western Zhou dynasty, the Chinese had been using the
time-keeping system of dividing a day into twelve hours known as 十二時辰為中國傳統計時單位，最早在西周開始使用，漢代以後又用
shichen, each shichen named after the Earthly Branches in the order 十二地支來表示。宋以後，把十二時辰中每個時辰平分為「初」、「
known as dizhi. Starting from the end of the Tang dynasty to the Song 正」兩部分，成二十四時辰，與西洋鐘錶二十四小時計法一致。此醒
dynasty, each shichen was divided into two, with the first half of each 鐘採用二十四時辰計法，一時辰内分八刻，以小時分四刻。錶盤十二
called the initial hour chu, and the second called the central hour 時辰有「初」、「正」設定，一天二十四小時皆設定報時。
zheng. On the present clock, each Chinese shichen is divided into
eight segments, with four segments representing one hour. The alarm 參看南京博物院藏一件清代十二時辰墜力鐵殼鐘，機制類似，為較晚
disc can be rotated to show twenty-four different shichen through the 期作品，見《精準與華美—南京博物院藏鐘錶精品》，南京，2013
pieced rectangle, allowing the alarm to be set based on twenty-four 年，圖版6。
hour time-keeping.

See also an iron-cased astronomical alarm clock, Qing dynasty, in
the Nanjing Museum, illustrated in Precision and Elegance: Selected
Clocks and Watches from Nanjing Museum’s Collection, Nanjing,
2013, no.6.

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