An Unusual Paste-Set Ormolu Casket Containing a Clock, English, Circa 1790

the rectangular casket with bell-shaped top surmounted by a white and red paste florette, the corners with blue glass and pearl vignettes, the front and sides further applied with paste-set florettes and gilt flowers, the reeded borders tied with flowers, the interior with 4-inch enamel dial with centre seconds and subsidiary dials for strike/silent, regulation and lunar date, the movement with fusee and chain for the going train, verge escapement with pierced balance cock, standing barrel for the strike sounding the hours and quarters on a replaced bell, the bezel set with pastes as a polychrome sunburst, a removeable lid to the lower compartment

Enamel dial is extensively restored but could be improved. Movement is clean and running at time of cataloguing but strike is rather sluggish and may require attention. Case ormolu in generally excellent condition, glass roundels in good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. All dimensions in catalogue descriptions are approximate. Condition reports may not specify mechanical replacements or imperfections to the movement, case, dial, pendulum, separate base(s) or dome. Watches in water-resistant cases have been opened to examine movements but no warranties are made that the watches are currently water-resistant. Please note that we do not guarantee the authenticity of any individual component parts, such as wheels, hands, crowns, crystals, screws, bracelets and leather bands, since subsequent repairs and restoration work may have resulted in the replacement of original parts. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue. In particular, please note it is the purchaser's responsibility to comply with any applicable import and export matters, particularly in relation to lots incorporating materials from endangered species.NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

**Please be advised that bands made of materials derived from endangered or otherwise protected species (i.e. alligator and crocodile) are not sold with the watches and are for display purposes only. We reserve the right to remove these bands prior to shipping.

Important Notice regarding importation into the United States of Rolex watches
Sotheby's cannot arrange for the delivery of Rolex watches to the United States because U.S. laws restricts the import of Rolex watches. The buyer or a designated agent may collect the property in the country of sale."

This casket with its colourful paste stars and ormolu flowers and mounts is similar to a number of clocks and necessaires made for export to China during the second half of the 18th Century.  It bears a striking similarity to a clock made in England for the  Qianlong emperor towards the end of his reign, which remains in the Imperial Collection in the Forbidden City. Both pieces make use of almost identical flower-garland mounts as well as very similar oval paste paterae with alternating colours, illustrated in van Wely, op. cit., no.14, pp162-167.  This clock also incorporates a sweep seconds hand, typical of clocks designed for the Chinese market.

One of the best known of the English jewellers and goldsmiths working in London in the mid-eighteenth century was James Cox (1723-1800) who produced either in gold or gilt metal, watches, automaton and toys related to the present casket. A number of his pieces survive in various collections, including the British Royal Collection, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, and in the Chinese Imperial Collection. Cox was first apprenticed for seven years to Humphrey Pugh who, although a goldsmith in Fleet Street, his trade card suggests that he was in business as a ‘toyman’. The term is not used in the modern idiom, but describes a maker of small fanciful objects in gold, silver and ormolu set with gems or paste.

In 1773, Cox claimed in evidence to a Parliamentary Committee that he had 'for about Seven Years past... employed from Eight hundred to One thousand Workmen' indicating his extensive trade, not only for the English market, but also for the East India Company, primarily to India in the late 1760s and early 70s. His other major market was China for the sing song trade, as the market for musical automatons and clocks was described. The vast number of English automaton clocks and pieces of this sort which remain in the Chinese Imperial collection not only indicates the collecting taste of the Emperor and his court, but confirms Cox's estimation of the number of workman he employed to make these pieces to satisfy the export market.

Clare Le Corbeiller, 'James Cox: A Biographical Review', The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 112, No. 807 (June 1970), pp 31-358.
Roger Smith, 'James Cox (c. 1723-1800): A Revised Biography, The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 142, No. 1167 (June 2000), pp 353-361.
Bob van Wely et. al., Treasures from the Forbidden City, Utrecht, 2010, no. 14, pp 162-167.