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Lot Essay
Objects destined for the export to China were, to the contrary what one may think, not made in the Chinese style but designed in the Louis XV, Louis XVI, Directoire and Empire styles as favoured by Chinese patrons. These timepieces, snuff boxes, fans and other objects were of distinctive design, distinguished by their unsurpassed quality and splendid decoration. Decorations and forms were inspired by nature and everyday items, such as sealing wax cases, fruits, animals, musical instruments, cherubs, classical paintings, mirrors, sewing necessaries, singing bird boxes, automatons, telescopes, form watches and many others, the spectacular cases ornamented with precious and semi-precious stones, pearls and enamel miniatures, genuine works of art created by the most famed artists of the time.
These objects were often made in pairs, the decoration identical but mirror-inverted so that they would face each other when displayed. According to tradition, this unusual habit had two reasons, one symbolic and one practical: the Chinese love for symmetry represented also by the lucky number "2", suggesting harmonious coexistence and, to some extend, reproduction, and the popular Chinese proverb stating "good things come in pairs". The practical aspect was the availability of a substitute - should one of the items need to be returned to Europe for repair for example, a process likely to take several months at the time, there was still its "twin" left to embellish ones home.
Often used as offering from a European dignitary to a Chinese dignitary, absolutely no effort was spared in the manufacture of these unprecedented, veritable marvels made to please the Chinese mandarins.
Of particular rarity and interest are however Chinese watches featuring a so-called "Exotic" decoration, such as the present watch. These watches, unfamiliar even to many connoisseurs of these extraordinary pieces, are distinguished by the uncommon motifs of the enamel scenes on their case backs.
The present watch is part of the exceedingly small series of Chinese market watches representing the commercial route undertaken by these objects during their journey from Geneva to Canton. Made by the celebrated manufactures in Geneva and the Neuchâtel Jura, the watches were carried over land to Mediterranean ports such as Genoa and Marseille from where they would travel by sea to the Port of Macau, and finally on a Chinese river junk on the Pearl River to the Port of Canton - a long and perilous undertaking prone to a large number of calamities.
The scenes represented on these watches include views of the departure point, Lake Geneva and the Mont Blanc, boats departing from a Mediterranean port, Macau, the Pearl River, the Port of Canton and, eventually, a Chinese dignitary - possibly representing the final recipient. The motifs were often taken from contemporary paintings and executed by the greatest enamellists of the time. Examples of these extraordinary timepieces are on permanent exhibition in the prestigious Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva. For detailed descriptions and illustrations see The Mirror of Seduction - Prestigious pairs of "Chinese" Watches, Patek Philippe Museum, edition 2010, pp. 144 - 151.
The finely painted enamel miniature on the present watch, a harbour scene in the Ottoman Empire with a chain of mountains in the background, possibly the Taurus, a mountain range in the Mediterranean part of Turkey, is representing a scenery between Europe and the Port of Macau. The sunray effect in the sky, suggesting sun rays by means of the partial engine-turning of the plaque and the use of translucent enamel, is in the manner of Jean-Louis Richter (1766-1841), one of Geneva's most celebrated artists of the time (see the following lot).
The sumptuous case is typical for the highest quality work of one of the best casemakers of the Val-de-Travers and the Neuchâtel mountains, notably the house of Bovet, who regularly entrusted the decoration of their watch cases to Geneva artists such as Jean-Louis Richter, Jacques-Aimé Glardon and others.
The polished and blued steel movement is in the style of Bovet's Chinese calibre in use in the mid 19th century (for an illustration and short description of this calibre see op. cit. p. 153, Inv. S-140).
The combination of a watch made for the Oriental Market and an Ottoman harbour scene can be regarded as a highly fascinating fusion of the two cultures which perhaps most admired the fine art of 18th and 19th century Swiss watchmaking: the Chinese and the Ottoman Empires.
Collectors and aficionados of the rare and extraordinary will agree that the present timepiece is not only a superb example for the outstanding workmanship of Swiss 19th century watchmakers, casemakers and enamellists but most importantly represents one of the scarce opportunities to add a trophy to the world's most distinguished watch collections.
These objects were often made in pairs, the decoration identical but mirror-inverted so that they would face each other when displayed. According to tradition, this unusual habit had two reasons, one symbolic and one practical: the Chinese love for symmetry represented also by the lucky number "2", suggesting harmonious coexistence and, to some extend, reproduction, and the popular Chinese proverb stating "good things come in pairs". The practical aspect was the availability of a substitute - should one of the items need to be returned to Europe for repair for example, a process likely to take several months at the time, there was still its "twin" left to embellish ones home.
Often used as offering from a European dignitary to a Chinese dignitary, absolutely no effort was spared in the manufacture of these unprecedented, veritable marvels made to please the Chinese mandarins.
Of particular rarity and interest are however Chinese watches featuring a so-called "Exotic" decoration, such as the present watch. These watches, unfamiliar even to many connoisseurs of these extraordinary pieces, are distinguished by the uncommon motifs of the enamel scenes on their case backs.
The present watch is part of the exceedingly small series of Chinese market watches representing the commercial route undertaken by these objects during their journey from Geneva to Canton. Made by the celebrated manufactures in Geneva and the Neuchâtel Jura, the watches were carried over land to Mediterranean ports such as Genoa and Marseille from where they would travel by sea to the Port of Macau, and finally on a Chinese river junk on the Pearl River to the Port of Canton - a long and perilous undertaking prone to a large number of calamities.
The scenes represented on these watches include views of the departure point, Lake Geneva and the Mont Blanc, boats departing from a Mediterranean port, Macau, the Pearl River, the Port of Canton and, eventually, a Chinese dignitary - possibly representing the final recipient. The motifs were often taken from contemporary paintings and executed by the greatest enamellists of the time. Examples of these extraordinary timepieces are on permanent exhibition in the prestigious Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva. For detailed descriptions and illustrations see The Mirror of Seduction - Prestigious pairs of "Chinese" Watches, Patek Philippe Museum, edition 2010, pp. 144 - 151.
The finely painted enamel miniature on the present watch, a harbour scene in the Ottoman Empire with a chain of mountains in the background, possibly the Taurus, a mountain range in the Mediterranean part of Turkey, is representing a scenery between Europe and the Port of Macau. The sunray effect in the sky, suggesting sun rays by means of the partial engine-turning of the plaque and the use of translucent enamel, is in the manner of Jean-Louis Richter (1766-1841), one of Geneva's most celebrated artists of the time (see the following lot).
The sumptuous case is typical for the highest quality work of one of the best casemakers of the Val-de-Travers and the Neuchâtel mountains, notably the house of Bovet, who regularly entrusted the decoration of their watch cases to Geneva artists such as Jean-Louis Richter, Jacques-Aimé Glardon and others.
The polished and blued steel movement is in the style of Bovet's Chinese calibre in use in the mid 19th century (for an illustration and short description of this calibre see op. cit. p. 153, Inv. S-140).
The combination of a watch made for the Oriental Market and an Ottoman harbour scene can be regarded as a highly fascinating fusion of the two cultures which perhaps most admired the fine art of 18th and 19th century Swiss watchmaking: the Chinese and the Ottoman Empires.
Collectors and aficionados of the rare and extraordinary will agree that the present timepiece is not only a superb example for the outstanding workmanship of Swiss 19th century watchmakers, casemakers and enamellists but most importantly represents one of the scarce opportunities to add a trophy to the world's most distinguished watch collections.