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JAPANESE pendulum clock "SHAKU DOKEI" WOOD "SHITAN" chime in the pendulum, late Edo

About the Item

JAPANESE WALL CLOCK "SHAKU DOKEI" WITH "SHITAN" WOODEN CASE AND CHIMING SYSTEM ON WEIGHT. Hanging pendulum with "shitan" (rosewood) wooden case, at the top removable door and glassed in front to allow access to the movement and winding hole. In the central part we find the removable wooden slat screwed to the front by two gold-plated brass pins, to which the hour and half-hour tiles are placed. At the lowest part we find the small drawer containing the charging key. The wooden "dial"-pillar-has thirteen movable tiles, called "toki," made of engraved golden brass for reading the hours. Japanese characters on the toki depict numbers. The time is indicated by a brass hand that slides vertically. The gilded bronze movement is fixed on the wooden "shitan" panel behind. The pilars are finely turned, and the movement wheels are fixed on a finely pierced and engraved plate with floral motifs. The verge escapement with monometallic balance wheel is driven by a gilded bronze weight with multiple functions, in addition to running the watch it also acts as a striking mechanism by having the partitora wheel and bell inside it as well as its own winding hole. Late Edo period, first half of the 19th century, ca. 1820. Dimensions: height 38 cm, width 6 cm, 5 cm depth. Condition: very good overall condition. the removable, glazed door on the front has been lost. Fnctioning movement. Notes: Shaku-dokei clocks were mainly made of Shitan wood. The Shaku-dokei principle was a unique Japanese invention that was implemented throughout the Edo period. Early examples of Japanese clocks used the rod and "foliot" escapement, followed by the pendulum and, in turn, the balance wheel. The principle is the same in all the various types of shaku-dokei. The method of measuring "hours" by dropping the descending weight from a "Kake-dokei" on the surface of the wall behind the Wadokei led to the construction of specially made small Wadokei with integral hour markers called Shaku-dokei. The name is derived from the linear unit of measurement of the dial, which was one "shaku" high (equal to about 300 mm or 12 inches). Japanese time measurement was very different from measurement in the Western world. Instead of a fixed value for an hour, the length of an hour in Japan, called toki, is variable depending on the length of the day and night. Day and night are both divided into six toki, which lasts from sunrise to sunset and from sunset to sunrise. In summer the days are longer than the nights and consequently a day toki last longer than a night toki. In winter it is the other way around. This is why Japanese clocks have sliding chapters to adjust the length of a toki. The hour numbers range from nine to four, the latter being noon. Japanese clocks indicate how many hours are yet to come, while European clocks indicate how many hours have passed. In Japan the digit 9 was sacred. Each toki, twelve in total, also had its zodiac sign, which was sometimes indicated on a ring around the time band.
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 14.97 in (38 cm)Width: 2.37 in (6 cm)Depth: 1.97 in (5 cm)
  • Style:
    Edo (Of the Period)
  • Materials and Techniques:
    Brass,Palisander
  • Place of Origin:
    Japan
  • Period:
    Early 19th Century
  • Date of Manufacture:
    Circa 1820
  • Condition:
    Wear consistent with age and use. Minor losses.
  • Seller Location:
    Milano, IT
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU9903241259782

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