Japanese clock

In 1808 the Wilanów collection was enriched with a unique clockwork purchased by Count Stanisław Kostka Potocki in Paris. Its delicate construction survived with major defects, but the preserved parts allowed us to reconstruct the main principles of its construction and functioning. The clock case is a simplified model of the first Chinese mechanical clock – the three-tiered Su-Sung water clock tower from 1088. In the lower part of the tier there is a simple spring-driven mechanism that sets in motion a rotary axis passing through all tiers, causing the horizontally mounted dials to move. On the third tier, marked the “sky”, there was an armillary sphere forming the end of the axis. This mechanism also activated the hands of the figure standing at the foot of the tower, striking the brass bell with hammers. The tower is set on a flat pedestal, which serves as a courtyard accessed by steps and a Japanese miwa-torii gate, the crossing of which symbolises leaving the existing world and entering the world of divine power. All the elements were covered with mother-of-pearl, fully engraved and carved. The mechanism was exhibited in the Chinese Rooms – the first museum exhibition of the Far Eastern collection.

AK