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Lot Essay
This clock was reputedly presented to the Emperor Quianlong (born 1711, reigns 1735 - abdicates 1795, died 1799) by Lord Macartney (1737-1806) on the occasion of his first mission to China in 1793.
Lord Macartney's embassy arose as a consequence of a deterioration of relations between the merchants of the East India Company and China. The balance of trade was very much in China's favour and when in 1785 an English seaman was sentenced to death by a Chinese court for accidentally killing two mandarins (when his ship fired a salute) the merchants' dissatisfaction grew. They requested the British governemnt to intervene on their behalf and to establish a diplomatic relationship between Great Britain and China. Lord Macartney was appointed Ambassador and set sail in September 1792.
Macartney took a large number of presents with him to present to Emperor Quianlong, including watches, clocks, a planetarium and an orrery. The embassy party included an instrument maker and a watchmaker who were responsible for looking after mechanical gifts and for setting them up.
Macartney and his party set off to meet the Emperor at the palace at Jehol and arrived on 8 September 1793, having left their larger presents behind in the Summer Palace in Beijing. On the 14th he was received by the Emperor and exchanged presents. He presented the Emperor with a pair of enamelled watches set with diamonds. Afterwards, looking around the Palace, he was disappointed to find that it was filled with expensive articles and in particular with clocks and musical automata of such superb workmanship and in such great numbers that 'our presents must shrink from the comparison and hide their diminished heads'. Subsequently Macartney returned to Peking, to be followed by the Emperor who then received the larger presents that were awaiting him.
After forty seven days in Peking Macartney was dismissed by the Emperor and told to return home immediately. The embassy had failed. With him Quianlong sent a letter to George III in which he wrote 'We have never valued ingenious articles, nor do we have the slightest need of your country's manufactures.'
See Allen H Weaving (op.cit.) pp.380-382.
Borrell, Henry. London, 1794-1840. A clock and watchmaker with addresses at Aldersgate Buildings in 1795 and Wilderness Row 1795-1840. Borrell was one of a number of English clockmakers towards the end of the 18th century whose work was strongly connected to the Export market. Frequently this was for the lucrative Turkish market and many clocks and watches with 'Turkish' dials by Borrell are known (see, for example, lot 83, sold these rooms 13 December 2000). His clocks and watches for the Turkish market will be signed on the dial; the present example is signed only on the backplate in keeping with Chinese regulations.
Lord Macartney's embassy arose as a consequence of a deterioration of relations between the merchants of the East India Company and China. The balance of trade was very much in China's favour and when in 1785 an English seaman was sentenced to death by a Chinese court for accidentally killing two mandarins (when his ship fired a salute) the merchants' dissatisfaction grew. They requested the British governemnt to intervene on their behalf and to establish a diplomatic relationship between Great Britain and China. Lord Macartney was appointed Ambassador and set sail in September 1792.
Macartney took a large number of presents with him to present to Emperor Quianlong, including watches, clocks, a planetarium and an orrery. The embassy party included an instrument maker and a watchmaker who were responsible for looking after mechanical gifts and for setting them up.
Macartney and his party set off to meet the Emperor at the palace at Jehol and arrived on 8 September 1793, having left their larger presents behind in the Summer Palace in Beijing. On the 14th he was received by the Emperor and exchanged presents. He presented the Emperor with a pair of enamelled watches set with diamonds. Afterwards, looking around the Palace, he was disappointed to find that it was filled with expensive articles and in particular with clocks and musical automata of such superb workmanship and in such great numbers that 'our presents must shrink from the comparison and hide their diminished heads'. Subsequently Macartney returned to Peking, to be followed by the Emperor who then received the larger presents that were awaiting him.
After forty seven days in Peking Macartney was dismissed by the Emperor and told to return home immediately. The embassy had failed. With him Quianlong sent a letter to George III in which he wrote 'We have never valued ingenious articles, nor do we have the slightest need of your country's manufactures.'
See Allen H Weaving (op.cit.) pp.380-382.
Borrell, Henry. London, 1794-1840. A clock and watchmaker with addresses at Aldersgate Buildings in 1795 and Wilderness Row 1795-1840. Borrell was one of a number of English clockmakers towards the end of the 18th century whose work was strongly connected to the Export market. Frequently this was for the lucrative Turkish market and many clocks and watches with 'Turkish' dials by Borrell are known (see, for example, lot 83, sold these rooms 13 December 2000). His clocks and watches for the Turkish market will be signed on the dial; the present example is signed only on the backplate in keeping with Chinese regulations.