GUESS THE OBJECT #6: A JAPANESE CLOCKWORK FLYCATCHER
Let's start off the year with our first Guess the Object game courtesy of our lovely vendors here at The Auction Barn!
Dropped off as part of a collection of clocks, this object shares a few things in common with your typical timber-cased clock, but for a very different and innovative purpose.
[To Right: A mysterious box!]
Consisting of a timber box, separated into various segments and attachments, the item consists of a small chamber with a wind up mechanism, which is accessible underneath a sliding lid with a logo and the words ‘Made in Japan’. After being wound, the mechanism activates, which then rotates a square sided timber drum inside the open chamber next to it. The drum rotates in the direction of a clear flap and to the underside of the chamber, whilst on the other side, a simple timber flap prevents anything which has entered the chamber from escaping. Instead, a small hole on the side remains open to a larger attached chamber covered by a fine wire mesh which can be affixed to the box by way of small hooks. It’s dimensions are 24cm wide, 12cm high, and 24.5cm deep.
Based on this, what can we assume? It’s at least Japanese in make, and once something is in, it’s hard to get back out, and made to run autonomously through the easy wind-up mechanism. Similar to a ballot box or a money box, this item stumped us all! We asked you on Facebook too - a speaker for music, a camera, or an animal trap; and we’re happy to finally give you the answer!
[To Left: the opposite side of the mysterious box, showing the detachable mesh cage.]
It’s ingeniously designed, and similar in purpose to a piece we previously asked for you to guess - it’s a fly catching machine! Food scraps - perhaps a nice jam or honey - are spread across the barrel to attract flies, which are dispensed under the machine and are funneled into the wire cage in their attempts so escape. Flies were then used as live bait for fish or to feed hungry koi in ornamental ponds, or simply to view, as the pastime of catching and collecting bugs has always been popular with children, but nowhere else is it as popular as Japan. With the humid, warm summers and the large variety of interesting specimens to catch and collect from stag beetles to cicadas, it’s no wonder games such as Pokemon were inspired directly by this pastime. This simple mechanism and design means all one has to do is set it up and let it go, and hope for success, then use the flies for another use; whilst other designs are deliberately designed to entrap the flies with no escape. Additionally, manufacturers also suggested applying alcohol to the drum to catch pesky mosquitoes at night!
[To Right: the box, with the mesh box separated to show the hole that allows movement from one chamber to the other.]
Known manufacturers include the Owari Clock Co. and the Nagoya Trading Co., with our example featuring a horse rearing above a globe, marked ‘Made in Japan’, the symbol which was used on pamphlets supplied with certain models of ‘High Trick’ machines manufactured by Owari, with the English-only label possibly indicating this one was intended for export. It’s in excellent, working condition, with the drum and mechanism in perfect working condition and the box with a great vintage patina.
This object, amongst many other amazing things, will be up for sale in the coming weeks in our Antiques and Collectables auctions in February 2023, so keep an eye out, send us a message, or give us a call and we can let you know how to start buying or selling at the Barn!
References:
‘High Trick Fly Catcher [Owari Clock]’ and ‘Murase Style Fly Trap’, on Timekeeper Kodokei [website, Japanese], c.1998-2023, <http://www.kodokei.com/ot_041_2.html#sec02> and <http://www.kodokei.com/ot_041_3.html#sec03>
‘Fly Trap (A650906)’, in Sir Henry Wellcome’s Museum Collection, via. Science Museum Group Collection Online [website], c.1998-2023, <https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co147613/fly-trap-insect-trap>
‘A Japanese Patent Clockwork Polished Oak and Brass Fly Catcher’, via. Bonhams online, in ‘Fishing and Angling Art’ on the 13th of October, 2006, at Honiton, Devon, UK, <https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/13728/lot/278/>