At least two other watches made by Courvoisier forAbdulmecid I, are known to exist; both have the cover decorated with a painted enamel portrait of the Sultan:- Courvoisier No. 51009, sold by Antiquorum in Geneva,on November 1, 1998, lot 369.- Courvoisier No. 58573, sold by Antiquorum in Hong Kong,on June 10, 1995, lot 245.Aimé Julien Troll (1781-1852).Famous enamel painter. Went into partnership with Jean-Louis Richter in 1828. He was specialised in the decoration of watch cases and snuffboxes painted with portraits, lake side and mountain landscapes. Was still working with Richter in 1838.Abdulmecid I (1823-1861), 31st Ottoman Sultan.Born on April 25, 1823, in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire [now Istanbul, Turkey]; died on June 25, 1861, in Constantinople. Abdülmecid I was Ottoman Sultan from 1839 to 1861. He issued two major social and political reform edicts known as the Hatt-i Serif of Gülhane (Noble Edict of the Rose Chamber) in 1839 and the Hatt-i Hümayun (Imperial Edict) in 1856, heralding the new era of Tanzimat (?Reorganization?).Well educated, liberal minded, and the first sultan to speak French, Abdülmecid continued the reform program of his father, Mahmud II, and was strongly assisted by his ministers Mustafa Resid Pasa, Mehmed Emin Ali Pasa, and Fuad Pasa. The reform edicts were in part directed towards winning the support of European powers. The edicts proclaimed the equality of all citizens under the law and granted civil and political rights to the Christian subjects. The main purpose of the reforms, however, remaned the preservation of the Ottoman state. The army was reorganized (1842) and conscription introduced; new penal, commercial, and maritime codes were promulgated and mixed civil and criminal courts with European and Ottoman judges were established. Abdülmecid introduced a new land law (1858), attempted to establish a new system of centralized provincial administration and, among his educational reforms, formed a Ministry of Education, established military preparatory schools and secondary schoos, as well as an Ottoman school in Paris (1855).Abdülmecid?s foreign policy was directed towards maintaining friendly relations with the European powers to preserve the territorial integrity of the Ottoman state. He ascended the throne as a mere boy a few days after the Ottoman defeat by the Viceroy of Egypt at the Battle of Nizip (June 1839). Only an alliance of European powers (excluding France) saved the Ottomans from accepting disastrous terms from Egypt (Treaty of London, July 1840). In 1849 Abdülmecid?s refusal to surrender Lajos Kossutand other Hungarian revolutionary refugees to Austria won him the respect of European liberals. Finally, in 1853 the Ottomans were assisted by France, Great Britain, and Sardinia in the Crimean War against Russia and were admitted as participants in the Treaty of Paris (1856).The European powers, however, while insisting on reforms regarding the Christians and minorities in the Ottoman Empire, obstructed the sultan?s efforts at centralization and at recovering power in Bosnia and Montenegro in the Balkans. They also forced the Ottomans to grant autonomy in Lebanon (1861), while the effect of the Treaty of Paris was to unify the Danubian principalities, paving the way for the independence of Romania (1878).Abdülmecid restored Hagia Sophia, built the Dolmabahçe Palace and founded the first French theatre in Constantinople. He was succeeded by his brother Abdul Aziz.BibliographyEncyclopedia Britannica, Inc., Copyright © 1994-1999.