English necessaire with watch for Chinese market Circa 1770

Gilt metal necessaire with a watch
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An English large gilt metal paste-set and stone necessaire with a watch made for the Chinese market, circa 1770, gilt verge movement, balance cock pierced and engraved with foliate scrolls, baluster pillars, signed James Cox, London.
White enamel dial, Roman numerals, blued steel beetle and poker hands, red paste-set bezel.
The casket form case set with earth-tone agate panels, overlaid with chased gold foliate strap-work, moulding set with vari-color pastes, the top inset with a watch and hinged opening revealing an elaborate set of implements, mounted on four charming cast sheep supports other implements.
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Height: 160 mm
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Signed: James Cox London
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The necessaire with the timepiece is a good example of objects exported to the Far East from England during the second half of the 18th century. The difficulty of finding acceptable goods with which to trade with China, and the Chinese Imperial fascination with complicated automaton clocks, stimulated English watch and clockmakers to produce many imaginative creations. For other examples of Cox’s pieces.

A similar piece was sold at Sotheby’s May 2011 by James Ransom, London.

For an extensive account of James Cox’s life and work, see Ian White, English Clocks for the Eastern Markets, Great Britain, 2012, also see Alfred Chapuis & Edouard Gélis, Le Monde des Automates, Paris, 1928, vol. I, Alfred Chapuis & Edmond Droz, Les Automates, Neuchatel, 1958, Clare Le Corbeiller, “James Cox: A
Biographical Review”, The Burlington Magazine.