Five Qing Dynasty clocks from the Nezu Museum at Sotheby’s

Among the offerings of Sotheby’s Hong Kong sale on 24 April are five Qing Dynasty clocks from the Nezu Museum (lots 2256 to 2260). Crafted in the late 18th century, they are among the most remarkable objects to appear on the market in years.

The term “museum grade” is applied rather freely to modern timepieces. Here it is simply accurate. The thousands of hours needed to design and execute each of these clocks are hard to imagine, and the fine detail speaks for itself: guilloché and enamel work, engraving, and automata.

For a serious collector, any one of these clocks would open a different field of collecting altogether, one of museum-level works of art.

Gilt clock with blue enamel, a jewelled floral finial and a white dial, seen from above at an angle — Gilt and enamel case with jewelled dial surround and floral finial

Gilt clock with a white elephant carrying a blue enamel vase on a green and gilt base, with a small dial below — Elephant clock: white elephant with jewelled caparison on an enamelled base

Top view of the white elephant clock with blue enamel vase and gilt details — The elephant and vase in detail

Gilt and blue enamel clock with white dial and Roman numerals on a dark background — Gilt and blue enamel clock with Roman numeral dial

Close view of an enamel panel with a gemstone border and a painted scene in a gilt frame — Detail of an enamel panel framed with gemstones

Vase-shaped gilt clock with blue and green enamel and a white dial on a wooden base — Vase-shaped clock on a wooden stand

Gilt clock with blue enamel, a white dial, columns and small figures on a dark background — Clock with twin columns, flower finial and figural group

Photographs: Sotheby’s.

Sotheby’s, 24 April – five Qing Dynasty clocks from the Nezu Museum