An unusual 18th century English pagoda clock realised $998,250 in a sale at Fontaine’s in Massachusetts last month.
The clock plays a famous Chinese folk tune
The piece was made especially for the imperial court of the Chinese emperor Qing.
It’s designed in the image of the Porcelain Tower of Nanjing, considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World, which was built in the 15th century but destroyed during the Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864).
A mechanism of eight bells plays a range of songs in sequence, including the famous Chinese folk tune Mo Li Hua.
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