Monday, August 16, 2010

Sun Tzu and a watch

I enjoyed browsing the Beijing Antique Market at Panjiayuan Street today.  I made two great purchases, a knockoff watch and a copy of Sun Tsu's "Art of War" printed on a wooden scroll.

This is the closest approximation of the wooden scroll I bought:  http://yeschinatour.com/china-guides/chinese-culture/art-of-war-sun-tzu/

I cannot find an pictorial approximation of the watch.  The watch face and mechanism are enclosed in a glass orb and bound by a bronze band.  A linked bronze chain is attached to the band on one end; at the other end is a small bell with four small linked chains instead of a bell.  The glass has several scratches; a thumb print is visible on the inside of one of the glass hemispheres.  To change the time, the hemisphere with the mechanism has to be removed.  The face reads:  "Woumei / Made in Swit-zerland 1882." Google in China has not shown me any evidence that this watch is real.  It is probably fake.  The Swiss watchmaker in Harvard Square will know for sure.