Page 90 - Sotheby's Speelman Collection Oct. 3, 2018

the Qianlong period (1736-1796), Qing clock-making reached making process, from design to material, as evidenced by the
an unprecedented height, as symbolised by the Zaozhongchu abundance of relevant Qing court records. For this reason the
(sometimes called Zhongzaochu), a workshop specialising clocks produced in the Qing court are called Imperially-Made
in clock-making. Among the clocks produced here, the Clocks. Sometimes the emperor rewarded or punished the
Yuzhizhong or Imperially-Made Clocks were renowned for personnel responsible to ensure the quality of these clocks.
their expensive materials and luxurious appearance. They Good work was rewarded with silver and gifts. Craftsmen
were mostly meant for use by the emperor, empress, and producing subpar works were punished with withheld
imperial consorts. According to extant data, the Zaozhongchu payments, financial penalties, withheld reimbursements,
expanded rapidly during the Qianlong reign, expanding from and even dismissal from the court and return to their places
three rooms to nine rooms within the palace. It developed of origin. This hands-on approach by the emperor ensured
a systematic workflow incorporating Western technicians, that the clocks produced by the Zaozhongchu were among
craftsmen employed from outside the palace, and supervising the finest of the period, and those created under Qianlong’s
eunuchs. At its height, it employed over one hundred people. auspices were especially excellent. The best Imperially-Made
In particular, Jesuit missionaries highly trained in clock- Clocks to survive today virtually all date from the Qianlong
making were in charge of technical supervision, and many period, and constitute the bulk of the former Qing imperial
of them had already been famous clock-makers before their collection of clocks. Qianlong-period clocks are noted for the
arrival in China. Such an elaborate and all-rounded team of following characteristics: their primary structures tend to be
experts ensured the quality of the clocks produced by the made of wood frames covered with bronze casings, and they
court, which harmoniously combined their makers’ various tend to feature architectural forms like pavilions, terraces,
cultural backgrounds and fields of technical knowledge. towers, and pagodas. They are also noted for their refined
craftsmanship. The faces of Qianlong clocks tend to feature
Making clocks and other pleasing mechanical contraptions
to meet the needs of the emperor and the court was the floral patterns in colourful enamels over bronze grounds,
Zaozhongchu’s foremost mission. The participation and or use traditional European-style silver fittings. Moreover,
approval of the emperor was paramount. In general, the Qianlong-clocks tend to feature the Qianlong nianzhi reign
process began with the emperor’s expression of a preference mark, a proud symbol of their refinement and excellence.
or explicit demand, which was expressed as an official edict The above brief introduction to the history of clock production
to which craftsmen responded with designs. Once approved, in the Qing court suffices to tell us that it was a unique system.
the designs would be realised in production. The emperor Imperially-Made Clocks were a monopoly of the imperial
personally supervised and approved every aspect of the clock- court, and to understand and appreciate them we must return

88 SOTHEBY’S 蘇富比