Clockwork wonders tell tale of cultural exchange

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Although it was Ricci who introduced modern clock technology to China, it is in fact China itself where the roots of mechanized timekeeping can be found.

"Clocks were invented in China in 1088 by Su Song with his waterwheel, but that technology and knowledge seems to have been lost over time, so when clocks arrived with Ricci, and in subsequent years, they appeared new and novel, and the Qing Dynasty emperors became really interested in clockwork objects and zimingzhong," said Desborough.

Britain became a world leader in clock technology in the 1600s, most famously through the work of Thomas Tompion, one of whose clocks sold at auction in 2015 for 4.5 million pounds ($5.7 million), and later Robert Harrison, whose ultra-precise marine chronometer transformed the accuracy of navigation.

"In the 18th century, the British realized the emperors had a real interest in and taste for zimingzhong, so they started to design pieces in a way that they hoped would appeal to them," Desborough explained.

But artisans making pieces they hoped would match the tastes of people they had never met, in countries they had never seen, made for some imaginative, if not entirely accurate designs, which only serve to add to the elaborate nature of the zimingzhong in the exhibition.

"They had an imagined view of the East, what they were creating was what they thought would appeal, and that was very different from reality," Desborough said.

The exhibition quotes a poem by Emperor Qianlong in 1784 about his admiration for the new technology: "Precious and unique treasures come from foreign boats, More delicately made than the Palace Lotus time-piece. It does not rely on water or fire, Seconds and minutes tick by automatically. It is truly heavenly made, And reports the time by the sound."