Sat, 18 October

Mandala, brass, from the workshop of J.H. Pendleton & Sons, Christchurch, New Zealand, c. 1897. Copper alloy, borosilicate glass, patinated steel. Diam. 42 cm; depth 3.2 cm; weight 1.6 kg. Commissioned as a convalescent's timepiece for the parlour of a home whose occupant had been advised to stop counting hours. The central plate — originally intended for a table service — was repurposed when the client requested "something that tells the time without moving." Gears are present but deliberately misaligned; the mechanism cannot engage. Seventeen mechanical birds, each no larger than a fingernail, perch along the outer ring. Under magnification, each bird's beak is open. Note the green patina concentrated along the upper quadrant, consistent with decades of being hung beside a window that was always left slightly ajar. Donated 2024 by the estate of the original family. Condition: stable. No restoration attempted.