Forbidden City clockwork treasures to go on view at Science Museum

Clockwork treasures on loan from China’s Forbidden City are to go on display for the first time in the UK at London’s Science Museum.

More than 20 clockwork artefacts collected by Chinese emperors will travel from Beijing’s Palace Museum, also known as the Forbidden City.

The objects are part of a new exhibition titled ‘Zimingzhong 凝时聚珍: Clockwork Treasures from China’s Forbidden City’, which opens on 1 February 2024.

Guests will embark on a journey through the 1700s where they will explore the technical expertise, creativity and international trade behind these centuries-old mechanical clocks – known to Chinese emperors as ‘zimingzhong’, which means ‘self-sounding bells’.

© The Palace Museum – Zimingzhong with British and Chinese mechanisms / Temple Zimingzhong made by James Upjohn

“The flamboyant combination of design flair and mechanical precision exemplified in these 300-year-old time pieces has to be seen to be believed,” said Ian Blatchford, director and chief executive of the Science Museum Group.

“We are deeply grateful to the Palace Museum in Beijing for entrusting us with these rare treasures from the Forbidden City.”

Most zimingzhong could tell the time, move and play music. The clocks in the new exhibition are around 300 years old and very fragile.

“In this new exhibition visitors can explore how the detailed designs and mechanisms at the heart of zimingzhong represent a unique cultural exchange of ideas and skills,” said Jane Desborough, keeper of science collections at the Science Museum.

Palace Museum’s zimingzhong in the UK

As part of the exhibition, the Science Museum has worked with China Exchange to collect stories and memories from people of Chinese heritage living in London. These will be on display across the exhibition and explore the cultural legacy of zimingzhong.

“In the 1580s, western clocks entered China’s interior from its southern coast, and the country’s history of clock collection and manufacture began,” said Wang Xudong, director of the Palace Museum.

“The rich collection of timepieces in the Forbidden City serves not only as a medium of contact between China and the western world, but also as a vehicle of cultural diversity: through a unique historical angle, it showcases over three centuries of communication, exchange and integration between China and the wider world.”

When the exhibition opens on 1 February, the Science Museum will host a special Lunar New Year Lates event in the evening. There will be lion and dragon dancers, Chinese drummers, and New Year’s arts and crafts.

Lead image credit: © The Palace Museum – Moving Pagoda Zimingzhong / Zimingzhong with parts from China and Britain