THESE lavish antique clocks don鈥檛 just represent time 鈥� they are also windows on a period of cutting-edge scientific innovation.
Each of these pieces, dating from 1662 to 1795, is part of the new exhibition at the Science Museum in London. This 鈥渆xplores how we measure time, and the technical expertise, creativity and international trade behind these centuries-old clocks鈥�, says curator Jane Desborough.
Advertisement
Called zimingzhong in Mandarin Chinese, or 鈥渂ells that ring themselves鈥�, they were brought to China by European missionaries during the Qing dynasty and were highly prized by Chinese emperors, who collected and displayed them in their hundreds in Beijing鈥檚 Forbidden City palace to highlight their royal status and opulent taste.
Much of what made the zimingzhong so prestigious was the technology inside the intricate casings, requiring hundreds of skilled craftspeople to produce just one clock. Powered by mechanisms still used today in some timepieces, some of the complex devices may even have been used to time the duration celestial events.
The main image shows a zimingzhong depicting the coronation of Louis XIV, king of France, while the smaller images show others featuring (pictured from below the main image): a popular Chinese art form called penjing (鈥減otted landscape鈥�) with delicate artificial flowers; a miniature armillary sphere instrument displaying the movements of the stars and planets around Earth; and engravings by the 18th-century painter Joshua Reynolds (pictured above). The exhibition is on until 2 June.
