Beschreibung:

A 19th century Japanese hardwood Shaku-dokeiKuniyuki 国行 The backboard with a shaped top with hanging aperture over a (now detached and in need of re-attachment) trunk with separate drawer, toki plate with brass diamond numeral plaques, and base plate. The brass weight driven movement with four turned finials over elaborate corner posts, the front panel depicting a foliate group emanating from a woven basket bearing the makers stamp, the verge escapement with plain two-armed brass balance. Ticking, with weight and key drawer. 41cms (16ins) highFootnotesProvenance: The family collection of J. Drummond Robertson. Shaku-dokei, also called pillar clocks, were initially made as small and as light as possible, to be accommodated in traditional Japanese homes. These homes, unlike most European houses at the time, had delicate paper walls, completely unsuitable for hanging a heavy wall clock. Shaku-dokei were therefore developed to by hung from the central wooden post in the house; thus, the clock had to be quite light and also quite narrow. As the movement was generally visible, the front plate would be engraved on the higher quality clocks, making it a more attractive addition to the home. Beginning in 1873 Japan converted their national time system from variable hours tracking the seasons to equally divided hours. Before this date, most clocks made in Japan had dials and striking that reflected a day being variably divided into six toki during the day, and six during the night. The exact length of the toki would vary depending on season; however, there would always be six divisions in both day and night. The numbers used to refer to each toki were a sequence from 4-9 with 9 representing midnight, 6 representing dawn down to 4, before repeating the sequence with 9 representing midday and 6 representing dusk; the numerals would all be represented by animals as well, though twelve animals were used so that in conversation 'the toki of the Horse' clearly referred to 9 during the day (or Noon), whereas 'the toki of the Rat' was 9 during the night (midnight). The Shaku-dokei were adapted to account for the temporal hours by either having movable toki plaques or having replacement toki plates which would be replaced every 13 days or so to account for the variability. This was usually done by a 'clock doctor' who would know which plate to use, however, later clocks would have numbered plates, to let the owner know when each plate should be removed. These later clocks would draw the ire of many clock doctors, who saw it as a challenge to their earnings by effectively cutting out guaranteed bi-monthly visits. This clock likely dates to before 1873, as the toki plate only has the numerals 4-9, in keeping with non-western time. It is likely a later example though, as it has a balance wheel escapement, rather than foliot. Beyond this, dating is notoriously difficult as the clocks would be made a single individual; there were no mass-produced movements which were then finished, or a network of individuals making a single component. One individual, likely Kuniyuki 国行 in this case, made every component, meaning that style and form would be partially at the whim of the maker and partially at the whim of the client. We are grateful to Yoko Chino, specialist in Japanese Art at Bonhams London, for providing the translation of the maker's name. Strachan, A. (2014) 'Japanese Clocks,' Horological Journal, Volume 156 (9), pgs. 394-398 (Accessed 9 May 2022). Ward, F. A. B. (1956) 'Informal Meeting', Antiquarian Horology, Volume 1 (11), pgs. 169-170 (Accessed 9 May 2022). Strachan, A. WADOKEI.ORG: Sharing a passion for Japanese Edo Period Clocks. Available at: https://wadokei.org/ (Accessed 9 May 2022). Japan Clock & Watch Association (2022) History of the Japanese Horological Industry. Available at:https://www.jcwa.or.jp/en/etc/history01.html (Accessed 9 May 2022). Japan Reference (2019) The Japanese Calendar. Available at:https://jref.com/articles/the-japa