Centuries of Time: A Private Collection

Markwick Markham Perigal, London

A gold and enamel pair cased verge watch made for the Ottoman market 1813-14, no. 41854

VAT applies to hammer price and buyer's premium

Auction Closed

May 14, 02:23 PM GMT

Estimate

8,000 - 12,000 CHF

Lot Details

Description

Markwick Markham Perigal, London

A gold and enamel pair cased verge watch made for the Ottoman market

1813-14, no. 41854

• Movement: gilded full plate, verge escapement, three-arm flat steel balance, decoratively pierced and engraved balance cock, diamond end-stone, silver regulation plate with Turkish numerals, fusee and chain, crested Egyptian pillars, signed and numbered Markwick, Markham, Perigal, London, 41854

• Dial: white enamel dial, Turkish numerals, outer minute ring, gold beetle and poker hands, signed Markwick, Markham, Perigal, London

• Case: 18ct gold inner case, aperture for winding to back, hallmarked London 1813-14, case maker's mark AN incuse • gold and enamel outer case, back centred with polychrome enamel painted lakeside scene, a ship in full sail and a bridge in the mid-distance, scalloped frame of translucent red and opaque white enamel, both bezels with turquoise, green and translucent red and amber enamel, inside case back counter enameled in light blue, inner bezels with turquoise enamel

diameter of outer case 39mm, inner 33.5mm

R. Chadwick, A Voyage Through Time, London: Unicorn, 2020, pp. 122-123.

James Markwick was made a Freeman of the Clockmakers' Company in 1692. From c. 1725, Markwick entered into a partnership with his son-in-law Robert Markham, the latter taking over the business following Markwick's death in 1730. Robert Markham continued using the Markwick Markham trading name until his own death in 1780. Between them, Markwick and Markham established a highly successful business selling watches to, and made specifically for, the Eastern markets. By the last quarter of the 18th century, the brand's caché was such that the Markwick Markham name was used by other eminent makers as a powerful tool to aid the sale of their own watches destined for the Eastern markets. Francis Perigal, a highly regarded London watchmaker in his own right, was one such maker who utilized the power of the Markwick Markham name to sell watches, such as the present lot, to the Ottoman market. Francis Perigal was a watchmaker to King George III and active in the Clockmakers' Company from 1781 until his death in 1824.