China, Qianlong era (1736-1795). Imperial automaton clock decorated with tribute bearers, gilded bronze, colored stone inlays, reverse glass painting, mirror, enamel and silk, three-melody bell mechanism, 85 x 24 x 23 cm/33.4 x 9.4 x 9 in. Estimate: €800,000/1.2 M
On May 27, 2008, in Hong Kong: Christie’s dispersed a beautiful collection of fifteen late eighteenth-century Chinese automaton clocks from the collections of the Nezu Museum in Tokyo. Clocks that belonged to different imperial dynasties and emperors, all fascinated by the clockwork mechanisms of these clocks that adorned many rooms of the Forbidden City palace in Beijing. And from these fifteen objects, the session auctioned this rare and important imperial automaton clock in bronze, from the Qianlong era. One piece fetched the equivalent of €3.5 million. Click here to read more