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Very Rare Lacquer Incense Clock in Dragon Boat Shape browse these categories for related items... All Items: Chinese: Lacquer: Painted: Pre 1837 VR: item #45366 Please refer to our stock #11B-096 when inquiring.
$720 |
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This intriguing Chinese lacquered wood incense "alarm" clock is crafted in “dragon boat” form with rich gold pavilion and landscape designs on a black ground. 18th/19th century. The prow and stern are snail-shaped instead of the more traditional dragon figurehead and tail (from which the name “dragon boat clock” was derived). The inside held a pewter liner, pierced at intervals with nine openings along its length, into which were inserted U-shaped wires which held an incense stick with graduated hours. The dragon boat was set on two pedestals approximately 6” high and placed over a metal pan having high resonance. The “alarm” consisted of a pair of small bronze bells tied to the ends of a silk thread that was draped over the incense stick and the sides of the boat at the point the sleeper wished to be awakened. When the burning of the incense stick reached that point, the silk thread burned and parted, dropping the bells into the pan, making sufficient noise to rouse the sleeper. This type of clock was developed in the Ming era (or earlier) and lasted through the 19th century. Dragon boat clocks are classified as rarities as few have survived, and collectors can take comfort in the fact that no copies of them are being made. This is a museum piece. For a history of these ingenious timepieces, see “The Trail of Time” by Silvio Bedini. Condition of the lacquer is very good. The pewter liner is missing; the wires are replacements. Dimensions: 21¼” long, 2½” wide, 1 3/8” high. |
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