MARK OF JOHN LINNIT, LONDON, 1844, 18CT.

细节

A Victorian gold freedom-box
Mark of John Linnit, London, 1844, 18ct.
Oblong, the cover chased with a scene of the British and Chinese delegates seated at a table signing the Treaty of Nanking, framed within a border of oak-leaves and acorns, roses, thistles and shamrock, a dove bearing an olive branch above, the angles applied with the Sword and Sceptre of State, the crest of the City of London, and a musical trophy, the sides and base engraved with shells, scrolls, flowers and pagodas and incorporating the arms of Pottinger with Cooke in pretence, and the City of London, the interior of the cover with presentation inscription, marked in cover and base
4in. (10cm.) long
9oz. (281gr.)

来源

Presented to Major General Sir Henry Pottinger 1st B^t (1789-1865)
A Lady; Christie's London, 28 April 1983, lot 563

出版

The Glory of the Goldsmith, Magnificent Gold and Silver from the Al Tajir Collection, London, 1989, no. 212, p. 250, illustrated p. 251

展览

London, Christie's, The Glory of the Goldsmith, Magnificent Gold and Silver from the Al Tajir Collection, 1989, no. 212

注意事项

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

拍品专文

Sir Henry Pottinger (1789-1865) married in 1820 Miss Cooke, eldest daughter of Richard Cooke of Dublin. He was appointed plenipotentiary and superintendent of British Trade in China by Lord Palmerston in 1840 at a time when the opium wars threatened Britain's commercial ties with China and many ports had been closed. His directive was to quell hostilities where previous peacemaking attempts had failed. With the help of Sir Hugh Gough and Admiral Sir William Parker, Pottinger captured Amoy, Chusan, Chintu and Ningpo, and in 1842 entered the Yangtze-Kiang with the intention of taking Nanking. These forays led to a wish for peace and the Treaty of Nanking was signed in the presence of High Commissioner Ke-hing on 29 August 1842 on board HMS Cornwallis, which event is commemorated in this freedom-box.

Among the terms, Hong Kong was ceded to Britain in perpetuity and the ports of Canton, Amoy, Foochow, Ningpo and Shanghai were opened to British traders and were assigned British consuls. Despite further wars in 1857-60, the significance of the Treaty for the future trade relations between China and Britain was profound. Sir Henry received a G.C.B. the same year and became the first British Governor of Hong Kong in 1843. In 1844 he returned to England to be made a Privy Councillor, and was awarded £1,500 a year for life by the House of Commons in 1845. He died in 1865.