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Paktong Incense Clock in Rare Jui Form browse these categories for related items... All Items: Archives:Regional Art:Asian:Chinese: Pre 1900: item # 145695 Please refer to our stock # 3-142 when inquiring.
B & C Antiques P. O. Box 291 Derby, CT 06418 203-929-7312 Guest Book SOLD |
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| This rare 19th century Chinese paktong incense clock has been masterfully crafted in the form of a jui scepter. The single compartment has an interior recessed tray to hold the incense seal template and the damper. The paktong lid and body are trimmed in beaded copper, and there is a separate copper trimmed base with a key fret design. Only the most finely executed examples of jui form incense clocks were equipped with such elaborate bases of contrasting metal. The characters on the elaborate pierced openwork cover are auspicious symbols in archaic seal script. The perforated track on the incense seal template has the seal characters “yen nien,” which may be interpreted to read “May there be long life.” The seal characters featured on the cover and template of incense clocks given as gifts were carefully selected to reflect the occasion. (For a similar example, see Figure 55 in “The Trail of Time” by Silvio Bedini.) Of the more esoteric devices developed by the Chinese to measure time, perhaps the most arcane are these aromatic incense clocks, which “told time” by the scents they emitted at designated periods. First, wood ash was tamped firmly in the tray. Then the seal was placed over the ash. A depression was made in the ash base along the entire length of the seal’s track, into which special powdered incense was carefully poured. When the seal was lifted, the incense remained in the track. The incense was then lighted and burned continuously for 24 hours. Paktong itself also has a fascinating history. Centuries before nickel was isolated in the west, the Chinese had produced an alloy of zinc, copper and nickel which had the lustrous sheen and color tone of silver, was appreciably harder than silver, and did not tarnish in use. Many examples of this alloy have a particularly pleasing color which is silver bright but possesses what has been termed a “soul of gold.” For additional information about paktong, see our article in “Arts of Asia,” Nov/Dec. 1992. Condition is excellent. Dimensions: 10” long, 2 3/8” high. | |||||||||||||||
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