Elaborate chiming clocks were the ultimate status symbol in 18th-century China, and Emperor Qianlong was so fascinated by them that he had more than 3,000 timepieces in his palaces chiming throughout ...

Sometimes identifying and dating an antique seems easy, but it fools you. An unusual wall clock was offered at a recent auction. It was labeled “Friesland wall clock with automata, 1800.” Friesland is ...