From Musical Clock to Street Organ

The Guangdong Museum of Art in Guangzhou hosted its first Dutch exhibition: From Musical Clock to Street Organ. From the collection of the National Museum from Musical Clock to Street Organ (Utrecht, The Netherlands), fifty highlights from the period 1480 - 1930 were selected for this exhibition. Among the instruments that were demonstrated in live-presentations was Jaquemarts klok, made in 1480, one of the oldest still playing instruments in the world.

Guangzhou once again the centre of mechanical music

A fascination with mechanical musical instruments has been cherished in China for centuries. It was the Jesuits that introduced musical clocks to China in the 17th century. The category developed to be very important for the international trade and diplomacy. In the 18th century Guangzhou was the only place outside Europe for world-famous London builder of musical instruments James Cox to open a branch. In later days Guangzhou became one of the Chinese musical clock production centers. Together with the fact that the province of Guangdong and the province of Utrecht share a bond of friendship, Guangzhou is the obvious location for this first exhibition of its kind in China.

From Musical Clock to Street Organ has become a tremendous success. Almost 37,000 people have visited the exhibition, which is twice as much as both museums had expected. Many children and schools visited the exhibition, a completely new – and very welcome – public for the Guangdong Museum of Art. The Chinese visitors, fascinated with mechanics, music and movement, responded enthusiastically. The Van Gogh-automaton in particular, – a Van Gogh shaped musical box, that paints the sunflowers while the music is played and at a certain point the flowers start to dance! – and the large dance organs – programmed with Chinese music for the occasion – filled the visitors with amazement and joy. Hundreds of Chinese visitors left the museum singing and dancing to the music. The Chinese media were equally positive.