Liu Minxia

    mllmx@msn.com

    MORE often than not, timepieces reckoned to be antiques have lost the function of keeping time. But their fine artistry and often superior craftsmanship tell stories that can make hours fly by.

    A piece belonging to a private antique clock collection on display in Shenzhen at the end of last month, for example, revealed a prevailing cultural trend in Europe dating back to the 18th century: the use of Chinese elements.

    The exhibition, held in Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center from June 27 to 30, was a highlight of the 24th China Watch and Clock Fair in Shenzhen.

    The decoration of the clock’s tall case, tailor-made in Britain in 1931 as a gift from a U.K. company to an employee in commemoration of his 25 years of service, included almost every common element found in traditional Chinese painting: a flying crane, auspicious clouds, pine trees, pavilions, bridges, seagulls, elegant ladies and a handsome man.

    Mysterious and exotic Chinese culture began to exert an influence over European interior design as well as clock artistry in the 18th century, although only a small proportion of Europeans, mostly missionaries, had ever visited China, according to Zeng Yi, director assistant at Time Lord Horologe History and Culture Institute, which was established by Wei Guangwen, the owner of the antique collection.

    “We can presume from the paintings on this clock that the clock maker hadn’t seen any Chinese, so hypothetically modeled the figures on Caucasians who have prominent noses and deep-set eyes,” Zeng said. “You see, their appearances are not so Asian and kind of weird.”

    To some extent, the remaining 50-odd antique clocks on display, mostly produced between the 17th and 19th centuries, exemplified the mood, personalities and history of Asia and Europe during that period, from the romantic ambience of France and the focus on nature in Germany to the rigid, punctual image of Englishmen and the passion for precise details and aesthetics in Japan.

    Out of austere ceramic, wood, marble, precious metals, and other possible materials came this line of delicately crafted clocks, with carvings, paintings and sculptures of different subjects in various shapes.

    A 1.65-meter-tall wall clock made from mahogany around 1860 was a typical parliament clock, a type of clock unique to Britain and coming about as the result of a misguided, short-lived clock tax enacted in 1797.

    As a response to the tax, which covered all timepieces, people simply stopped buying new clocks and watches while many public buildings and businesses put up their own large clocks on display to the public. The parliament clocks, also called tavern clocks, were especially common in taverns.

    The 1860-era tavern clock on display was made by a renowned U.K. clockmaker in the 19th century, William Corke, with a mahogany flame pattern perfectly presented on the clock’s case.

    Another eye-catching piece is a black clock in the shape of chest armor. Made of metal in France during the reign of Napoleon III, the table clock can also be used as a vase, with the general design and details singing explicit praises to the ruler of the Second French Empire.

    A table clock creatively designed for missionaries could serve as an alarm clock, which stroked nine times at a set time to remind people of religious rituals. Modeled after a Gothic church building, the German-made 19th-century clock features 12 little wooden puppet missionaries, which came out in a line from attics on the second floor of the building right after the nine strokes.

    The oldest piece is a Jeremias Pfaff (1651-1701) table clock made in 1660 in Augsburg, Germany. Unlike more sophisticated clocks made later, the face of the hexagon-shaped clock is on the top.

    A typical post-Renaissance artwork, the clock made of pure copper has exquisite carved flower patterns on its six sides. Through the spaces on the patterns, one could spot the clock’s movement inside.

    It took Wei Guangwen, director of Time Lord, a Guangzhou-based high-end mechanical chime clock manufacturer and distributor, more than 20 years to collect these magnificent clocks.

    “They are art pieces. Each features its own story, history and culture and thus represents a certain luxury lifestyle reflecting the owner’s taste,” Wei said.

    Wei said it was difficult for Chinese collectors to collect pieces prior to 2008, as many European private museums refused to open to them.

    “Things changed after the financial crisis in 2008, and many private museums in Europe became willing to sell antique clocks to Chinese collectors,” he said.

    Now even overseas collectors are turning to Wei to enrich their collections.