A watch with an almost identical scene and also by Ilbery, with the ascending number to the present watch (7078) was sold by Antiquorum, Hong Kong, on April 23, 2006, lot 424.
William Ilbery (?-1839). Active in London from 1780 in Goswell Street, he moved to Duncan Terrace towards the end of the 18th century. Following James Cox in London and Jaquet Droz in Switzerland, he too specialized in the production of luxury watches for the Chinese market. His early production was verymuch in the English style, featuring a full platemovement and an English type single wheel duplex escapement; however for his highest quality watches, he incorporated a spring detent escapement. The cases were also very much in the style of those produced in England at the time. Later, along with Jaquet Droz?s Swiss production signed in London and that of William Anthony who worked in London, the watch movements he produced were much inspired by the Lepine caliber with free-standing barrel. In fact he set a new standard for all watches made for the Asian market.
He organized the production of profusely engraved movements in Switzerland, mainly in Fleurier; he was followed in this by makers such as Bovet and Juvet, who also worked in Fleurier (Val de Travers). Bovet and Juvet organized the mass production of silver-cased watches and later, once their Canton manufactures were opened, they assembled these directly in China. Ilbery can therefore be considered the ?father? of ?Chinese? watches, as they are known today.
The cases of Ilbery?s watches were decorated in by Geneva?s best enamelers, such as Jean-Francois-Victor Dupont, who often signed his work, and Jean-Louis Richter, whose enamels were generally not signed. He seems to havemaintained close contacts with the continental trade, since a watch signed ?Ilbery Paris? is known and Ilbery & Son are recorded in London and Fleurier, as well as in Canton.
Jean-Louis Richter (1766-1841) Learned his art under David-Etienne-Roux and Philippe-Samuel-Théodore Roux. He did not often sign his work, but it is clearly recognizable from the style and quality of the painting. Richter applied his art principally to watch cases and snuff boxes largely destined for the Chinese, Turkish, British and Italian markets. In 1828 he was in partnership with Aimé- Julien Troll (1781-1852). Richter often found inspiration for his work frompaintings or engravings by artists in vogue: Van der Myn (1684- 1741), Giovanni Battista Cipriani (1727-1785), John Francis Rigaud (1742-1820), John Hoffner (1748-1810) and Francesco Bartolozzi (1727-1815), or from scenes such as the ?Abduction of Helen? by Guido Reni (1575-1642).
Titus and Berenice Titus, the elder son of emperor Vespasian, was born in AD 39. FromAD 61 to 63 he served in Germany and Britain as military tribune. He then returned to Rome andmarried Arrecina Tertulla, the daughter of a former commander of the Praetorian guard. A year later Arrecina died and Titus married Marcia Furnilla.
She was of a distinguished family which had connections to opponents of Nero. After the failure of the Pisonian conspiracy, Titus thought it best not to be connected in any way with any potential plotters and hence divorced Marcia in AD 65. The same year Titus was appointed quaestor, and became commander one of his father's three legions in Judea in AD 67 (XV Legion 'Apollinaris'). A serious threat to Titus' succession was his affair with the Jewish princess Berenice, ten years his senior, beautiful and with powerful connections in Rome. She was the daughter (or sister) of the Jewish king, Herod Agrippa II, and Titus called her to Rome in AD 75. As he had divorced his second wifeMarcia Furnilla in AD 65, Titus was free to remarry. And for a while Berenice lived openly with Titus in the palace. But the pressure of public opinion, mixed with anti-Semitism and xenophobia, forced them apart. There was even talk of herbeinga ?newCleopatra?. Rome was not prepared to tolerate an eastern woman close to power and so Berenice had to return home. The scene depicted on the present watch shows Berenice parting from Titus.