19th Century
European or Chinese Market
Dimensions: length 5 inches; 12.6cm

Priced in GB pounds sterling 
£14,000
This item is located in the UK. Shipping from there is at the buyer's expense.

A rare Chinese pocket sundial in white metal, champlevé enamel, paste and brass, with original silk lined box.

A small number of these rare and unusual devices are recorded and this is a particularly fine example in good condition.
In the early 19th century in Canton there was a small market for clever items such as clocks, watches, automata and scientific instruments, which were popular with the Chinese Imperial court as well as with Europeans. This item must have been made in the same Imperial workshops.

References: A similar champlevé enamel sundial, made by the Workshops of the Qing Court, is illustrated in Scientific and Technical Instruments of the Qing Dynasty, The Complete Collection of the Treasures of the Palace Museum, Beijing, 1995, cat no. 20, page 27; a similar example is in the Ernst Collection, Harvard College Observatory; another damaged example is in the Science Museum, South Kensington, London (No 195-237) incorrectly described as Korean.