The Collection of a Connoisseur 掌上的百年風華: 鐘錶及裝飾藝術收藏
The Collection of a Connoisseur 掌上的百年風華: 鐘錶及裝飾藝術收藏
JAMES MCCABE, LONDON | A FINE GOLD, ENAMEL AND DIAMOND-SET HALF-HUNTING CASED MINUTE REPEATING KEYLESS LEVER WATCH WITH CONCEALED POLYCHROME ENAMEL PAINTED PORTRAIT OF AN INDIAN GENTLEMAN, MADE FOR THE INDIAN MARKET 1877, NO. 08849
Auction Closed
July 14, 12:35 PM GMT
Estimate
15,000 - 25,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
JAMES MCCABE, LONDON
A FINE GOLD, ENAMEL AND DIAMOND-SET HALF-HUNTING CASED MINUTE REPEATING KEYLESS LEVER WATCH WITH CONCEALED POLYCHROME ENAMEL PAINTED PORTRAIT OF AN INDIAN GENTLEMAN, MADE FOR THE INDIAN MARKET
1877, NO. 08849
gilded 3/4 plate lever movement, cut and compensated bi-metallic balance, diamond endstone, steel hammers repeating on coiled gongs, signed Jas. McCabe, Royal Exchange, London, no. 08849, white enamel dial with black Roman numerals, signed Jas. McCabe, London 08849, subsidiary seconds at 6, blued steel double spade hands, gold cuvette, 18ct gold case with opaque turquoise enamel heightened with diamond-set scrolling stylised foliage, the enamel to the front with scalloped inner edge and centred by a glazed aperture surrounded by blue enamel Roman numerals and minute ring, the back centred with a diamond-set monogram, decoratively chased and engraved bezels and pendant, slide repeat in the band, the front lid opening to reveal a finely painted polychrome enamel portrait of an Indian gentleman, case hallmarked 1877, cover and cuvette numbered 0884, with case maker's mark AS for Alfred Stram and IMC incuse for James McCabe
diameter 44mm.
A concise history of the McCabe family by Paul Hackamack can be found in Antiquarian Horology, No. 3, Vol. 10, Summer 1977, pp. 308-316. James McCabe was born c. 1748 in Ireland near to Belfast and moved to London in 1775. The firm is recorded at Fleet Street, Cheapside and the Royal Exchange. In 1781, McCabe was made a Freeman of the Clockmakers’ Company, later becoming a Warden. James died in 1811 and the firm was continued by his youngest son Robert. Robert died in 1860 and, in turn, his eldest son, Robert Jeremy McCabe, continued the family business until he closed it in 1879/80. Robert Jeremy appears to have spent the remainder of his life as “a man of independent means” and died in 1902 [op. cit. p. 309].