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2021 August
Century-old Music is the Soul of Vintage Music Boxes

With its old spring wound up, the cylinder in the large wooden box immediately begins to revolve, playing a sweet, melodious tune. Here is a scene where a Swiss-made vintage music box in Shum Mak-ling’s collection is playing a tune. The fact that a handicraft made over a hundred years ago can still operate accurately is a demonstration of how amazing Swiss craftsmanship is.

 

A chance encounter steered Shum towards music boxes

When it comes to music boxes, most people may have the impression that they are small and exquisite, but many of those in Shum’s collection are as big as a small piano, and inside them is like a small symphony orchestra well-equipped with a piano, wind instruments, percussion instruments and drums. Shum is engaged in the timepiece industry and also a well-known collector of antique wood carvings in the city. Over the decades, he has collected more than 20,000 pieces of exquisitely handcrafted precious wood carvings. So how did he end up with music boxes?

 

“Five years ago, I attended an auction where it happened that music boxes were being auctioned. I was fascinated by the sound of the music boxes, but more importantly, they were made with the same principles as timepieces. I was immediately interested, thus paving the way for me to start collecting them.” In just a few years, Shum has collected over 400 vintage music boxes from all over the world, accounting for 60% of the works handed down.

 

An item so valuable it can be used to buy a castle in those years

Most of the music boxes in Shum’s collection were made in Switzerland between 1840 and 1895. Even the “youngest” among them is over a century old. Giving an eloquent account of the history of music boxes, Shum said: “In the 19th century, the supply of timepiece parts in Switzerland was greatly affected by the political turmoil in Europe. Suddenly hit upon a wild idea, the timepiece craftsmen switched to making music boxes which share the same principles as timepieces.”

 

Meticulously designed and entirely handcrafted, these music boxes were expensive and definitely not affordable for ordinary people. At that time, owning such items was a status symbol for the upper class. Shum said that in his collection there is a Swiss-made B.A. Bremond music box commissioned by a British knight who promised a small to medium-sized castle as payment, and it took the craftsman a full ten years to make it, “This music box could be used to buy a castle at the time. In the end, I bought it for over USD200,000 at an auction. I couldn't even get a toilet in Hong Kong with this amount of money, so it’s quite a bargain!”

 

Brimming with history and stories

Shum admitted it is difficult for him to pick a favorite from his collection. “A case in point is a particular music box. I was very surprised and excited when I first heard it playing. The reason is that of the over 20,000 pieces of music that the music boxes in my collection can play, that’s the only piece of Chinese music. Moreover, it’s ‘Jasmine Flower’ that everyone knows very well! ”

 

Among the dazzling range of items in his collection is the one that was made to Napoleon IV’s order. The eagle and bee, both emblems of Napoleon Bonaparte’s empire, were deliberately added to its design. Also, because Napoleon IV liked to whistle, every piece of music was preceded by the sound of whistling. In addition, there is another one that was owned by the well-known American financier J. P. Morgan. His descendants sold the ancestral music box to Shum at a very reasonable price because they did not know how to maintain it, with the only condition that he must keep it well.

 

Looking to setting up a museum to pass on collections to future generations

Mocking himself, Shum said that he is tone deaf and not well versed in music. He believes that these music boxes have recorded more than 20,000 pieces of European music from the 19th-century, which may include some that have gone missing and not been passed down. He hopes to work with experts from academies of music in the future to explore this treasure trove of European music history.

 

He also has the desire to set up a small museum to showcase the Qing Dynasty wood carvings and vintage European music boxes he has collected over the years, respectively presenting the most exquisite aspects of Chinese and Western cultures. “Hong Kong is best suited for setting up this museum as it is a place where Chinese and Western cultures meet. I am willing to lend out or even donate my collection for free, if the Government has this intention.”