Colorized Lacquer Clock with Eight Immortals (群仙祝壽御制鐘)

Where to be found: the Clock Hall of Fengxian Palace 奉先殿鐘表館

This clock, which sits on a rectangular table, is a representative masterpiece among clock collections in the Palace Museum. It is 185 centimeters tall, 102 centimeters wide in the front and 70 centimeters wide at both sides.

The clock was made during the reign of Qing Emperor Qianlong, and took five years to complete. There are seven mechanical systems that control the timepiece and chimes. When the springs at bottom are wound, the scenes to the right and left of the clock panel will rotate. The clock strikes at every quarter hour and three doors on the second story will automatically open to show three figures holding hammers and bells. The figures on the right and left strike bells to announce the quarter hour and the central figure marks the hour. After that, the figures retreat into the tower, music plays and the scenes beside the clock panel begin to move.