Chinese noble women and watchmaking

Beijing

David Chang - When I saw the exhibition organized by the FHH about women and watches during the SIHH, it enlightened me to write this article. When watch making entered the Chinese royal palace in 1601, Chinese noble women already liked these artefacts. There are some stories about this subject.

Clock which looks like a wooden storing building (2)

When I saw the exhibition organized by the Foundation of Fine Watch Making about women and watches during the SIHH, it enlightened me to write this article. When watch making entered the Chinese royal palace in 1601, Chinese noble women already liked these artefacts. There are some stories about this subject.

David Chang*

A present from Matteo Ricci

In 1601, more than 40 tributes from Matteo Ricci (1522-1610), an Italian Jesuit priest sent to China, were handed over to the Forbidden City, including two chiming clocks, one big and the other small. When the Emperor Wanli (1563-1620) of the Ming Dynasty looked at the big one for the first time, the clock couldn’t chime because it was not adjusted well. Therefore, he summoned Matteo Ricci at once to let him adjust the clock while playing admiringly the smaller one all the more. The clock was always put in front of him as he enjoyed looking at it, hearing it endlessly chiming. It is said that Emperor’s Mother had asked to have a look at the clock as soon as she knew Wanli had such a wonderful masterpiece. Then she ordered a eunuch to collect it form the Emperor and bring it to her.

However, Wanli was afraid that Emperor’s Mother would like the clock as much as he did so that she wouldn’t hand it back to him. In another way, he could not reject his mother’s request. Therefore he let the eunuch take care of the horologe but only after having undone the clockwork spring so that it couldn’t chime anymore. Emperor’s Mother received then a broken clock, found it not funny at all and returned it soon to her son. The two clocks are the pioneer modern time keeping machines in the Forbidden City. From then on, it became in fashion for Chinese Emperors to own and play chiming clocks of all forms. But the two time keeping machines offered by Matteo Ricci can be considered as a start of collecting and making clocks in the Forbidden City.

The Forbidden City, a leading consumer

Under the Qing Dynasty (1644 to 1911), there was no other place in China where people owned more horologes than in the Forbidden City. The Emperor and his wives were the leading consumers. They collected the rarest, most fine and unique horologes in the country. These horologes were used as furnishings pieces in the palace and gardens. There were two kinds of “clock furnishings”, the ones displaying time all year long while the others were used on New Years or feasts. The former were arranged on appointed places perennially without any change; the latter were set up provisionally to serve as foils during these happy events. Afterwards, the clocks were packed away.

Learning from two paintings created during the Kangxi period (1661-1722), we can understand what these horologes were used for. On one painting, we can see a lady (1) who’s wearing the simple but elegant Chinese Dress and some traditional thread binding books which underlines oriental cultural charm making a poetic balance to occidental equipment represented by the enamel watch. Western advanced science and technology and eastern traditional culture put together to bring out the best of both. The other painting shows us that a noble woman is looking at two naughty cats while having an enamel clock nearby (2) . This clock, which looks like a wooden storing building, has an enamel dial with embed colourful enamel pieces on the top and faces. From the decoration and form of this clock, we can think it was made in workshops of the Forbidden City. These two paintings are the very first horologe’s picture materials of Qing Dynasty.

Exquisite horologes were not only loved by Emperors but also by their wives. In Qianlong Period (1736-1795), more horologes were to be seen everywhere in the palace. And designs of horologes appeared on porcelain, jade and enamel utensils. When Tongzhi Emperor (1862-1874) and Guangxu Emperor (1875-1908) married, horologes were the most important part of Empress Trousseaux. ■

*Editorial Director, magazine and Watch Column

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