Japanese, double foliot lantern clock, large, "Nicho Tenpu Yagura-dokei", 30 hour, steel framed movement with tooled brass covers, now on a purpose made wall bracket and with later weights

Japanese, double foliot lantern clock, large, "Nicho Tenpu Yagura-dokei", 30 hour, steel framed movement with tooled brass covers, now on a purpose made wall bracket and with later weights although the wall bracket and weights are modern, the clock itself is otherwise c1790 and in very good original condition. Small dent in dial. Larger lanterns like this [16" ht] often occur on a floor base, which may be a simple trapezoid paneled affair, or open with delicate curved legs. For centuries, the japanese divided the day into 6 daylight hours and 6 night time hours, and their clocks designed to vary the length of each hour to correspond with the daylight offered by the sun. The work day and study day were thus longer in the summer and shorter in the winter. Levers within the movement rise to change from the small foliot to the large foliot, and every few days the little weights on the foliot are adjusted manually outward or inward to change the length of the hours. Small alarm weight and rope are lacking. From the collection of the late Rose Brandt.