Upjohn, Richard and James, Exeter and London
Richard Upjohn was born in Topsham in 1728 and died in Exeter in 1778. His elder brother, James, was born in Shaftesbury in 1722 and died in Hornsey, London, in 1794. They were both apprenticed to their father Edward Upjohn (1686-1764). Fortunately, James wrote a comprehensive journal of his Life and Travels, for which the manuscript survives in the Clockmakers Company Library (Guildhall Library, Ms. 20 384) and has now been transcribed and quite recently published (The Life and Travels of James Upjohn, edited by Leopold, John, & Smith, Roger, The Antiquarian Horological Society and The Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, 2016).
James Upjohn moved to London in 1743, following a disagreement with his father, and went on to establish a very successful business. He was for a period supplying some of the most important pieces sent to China by James Cox (op. cit., p. 127), both clocks and watches, and, although not signed by Upjohn, detailed descriptions provided in his manuscript confirm that he was the maker, and indeed, he records their shipment to China: “These Cars and Temples were sent to Canton in China in the year 1771, and cost £ 115 freight and £ 105 insurance…” (op. cit., p. 155). Eventually they were sold to the Imperial Court, and at least two are still preserved in the Collection of the Forbidden City; most notably the Elephant Carriage, described by Upjohn as a “Car” and, at 136 cams., noted in a Museum Catalogue as “the longest Western Clock kept in the Forbidden City.” (Liao Pin, Clocks and Watches of the Qing Dynasty From the Collection in the Forbidden City, Foreign Languages Press, Beijing, 2002, cat. No. 90).
Although the movement of the watch is signed Richard Upjohn, there seems to be little doubt that it was supplied to James in London for fitting into the Mirror. Richard spent his working life in Exeter, but was certainly in touch with his more successful brother in London. James records in his Journal: “from the time he began business … he never was less than from £ 300 to £ 500 in my debt …” (op. cit., p. 147).
In addition, according to the catalogue note accompanying the recent sale of a gold and enamel watch by James Upjohn, we can read: “James Upjohn is the best known member of an Exeter family of makers. He is thought to have had his movements made, or at least finished, in Exeter. The Upjohns exported their watches mainly to the Dutch market. Baillie, in Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World, notes that James Upjohn was based initially at Threadneedle Street in London before moving to Lombard Street in 1765. He was later to be found at Red Lion Street.” (Sotheby’s, London, auction, December 15, 2015, The Celebration of the English Watch, Part I, David Ramsay and the First Clockmakers’ Court, lot 61).
Bibliography
• Leopold, John, & Smith, Roger (edited by), The Life and Travels of James Upjohn, The Antiquarian Horological Society and The Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, 2016 (XXXIII + 181 pp.).
Whatever the origin of the mirror frames, a comparison of the museums pieces with the lot now offered for sale indicates emphatically that they all emanate from the same workshop. This is most notable in the form of the handles, which, although not identical in decoration, employ many of the same elements. Perhaps the most telling detail is the incorporation of a telescope into the handles of all three, accessed through a threaded terminal finial.
Mention should also be made of a gilt-bronze carriage mirror (suspended from a ring) incorporating a watch (H. 267 mm.) whose movement is also signed by W. Beckford, London, No. 12 969 (verge escapement). When this item went on sale in 2011 (Sotheby's, Hong Kong, auction, October 5, 2011, lot 1 967), it was also about its origin, Chinese or English. Was it made entirely at the end of the 18th century in London or in workshops in Canton / Guangzhou? The catalogue mentions: “The Qing emperors were endlessly fascinated by Western mechanical ornaments and scientific instruments that arrived at court as tribute, of which timepieces were particularly favoured. Yang Boda in the catalogue to the exhibition, Tributes from Guangdong to the Qing Court (Art Gallery, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, 1987, p. 55), notes that most of the imported timepieces were made in London and Chinese clocksmiths in Guangzhou were commissioned to create accurate copies of imported clocks from the early 18th century following an edict in the fourteenth year of Qianlong’s reign (op. cit., p. 63). He further mentions the great demand for watches and clocks by the Qing emperors who ‘lived and worked under the chimes of their clocks’ which embellished every wall and table of the Palace complex as well as ‘watches for the saddle on horseback and clocks for the sedanchair’ (op. cit., p. 63).”. In the end, the experts at Sotheby’s gave it to Canton / Guangzhou.
Although no other documents closely related to this group of items seem to have been published, one can still mention a gilt-copper dressing table with a similar rococo-style watch surmounted by a mirror, from the Qing Court collection and still in Beijing.
Bibliography
• The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum. Scientific and Technical Instruments of the Qing Dynasty, Hong Kong, 1998, pl. 178. We would like to thank Mr. Simon P. Bull, former watch expert at Christie’s (1970-1980’s), then Antiquorum (1990’s), for his assistance in preparing the notes for this lot.
Hand mirrors incorporating a watch
Hand mirrors incorporating a watch, made for the Chinese Market, are extremely rare with no more than a handful being recorded. It’s very difficult to said if they were manufactured in England (London) or in China (Canton / Guangdong), with European movements. Are recorded to date, seems to be made by the same workshops:
A pair of mirrors preserved in Beijing, Imperial Palace Collections in the Forbidden City; these have single sided mirror panels within an oval frame and are more elaborately decorated on the reverse. They are first described by Harcourt-Smith (1933). He describes them as follows: “Gold and bronze-gilt hand-mirror, probably French, c.1770. The back of the mirror is enriched with baroque scrolls and garlands, enclosing a device of musical instruments, etc. in coloured paste. On top of the mirror is a small watch encircled with paste flowers, the reverse side being enamelled in blue. Pair.” Clearly, Harcourt-Smith did not discover the telescopes. He notes that they are “probably French”, and the same origin is given in recent catalogues of the collection (2002 and 2008).
However, a careful examination of the colour illustrations shows that the timepieces are actually complete watches and would appear to be fitted into the frames and not an integral part of the mirrors as is the case with the present lot or the one in the Patek Philippe Museum, Geneva (see below).
In the catalogue by Liao Pin (2002), it is noted that the word “Paris” is marked on the back of the watch case, which would naturally support a conclusion that the entire objects were French. At the period in question, the 1770’s, there were undoubtedly French pieces being exported to China, but evidence indicates that the vast majority came from England. It is the case that pairs of watches were coming from various sources.
Bibliography
• Harcourt-Smith, S., A Catalogue of Various Clocks, Watches, Automata, and other miscellaneous objects of European workmanship dating from the XVIIIth and the early XIXth centuries, in the Palace Museum and the Wu Ying Tien, Beijing, 1933, No. 729, pl. IX.
• Liao Pin, Clocks and Watches of the Qing Dynasty From the Collection in the Forbidden City, Foreign Languages Press, Beijing, 2002, cat. No. 90.
• The 200 Pieces You should Know. Timepieces, Beijing, 2007, pl. 168.
• Timepieces in the Imperial Palace, Classics of the Forbidden City, Beijing, The Palace Museum Edition, The Forbidden City Publishing House, 2008, p. 242, No. 165.
A hand mirror in lobed form, incorporating a watch above the handle (362 x 158 x 29.7 mm.), with a movement signed by William Beckford, London, No. 12 962 (verge escapement), is now kept in Geneva at the Patek Philippe Museum (Inv. S-787). The structure of the gilt bronze mirror is adorned with enamel, inlaid with rubies and emeralds, and with eglomised glass. A watchmaker by the name of Beckford was active in Bristol in 1778, then a William Beckford in Lancaster in 1789.
Between 1964 and 2005, the piece was kept in the collections of the former Abeler Wuppertaler Uhrenmuseum in Wuppertal (North Rhine-Westphalia). It is reputed to have been a gift from Mao Zedong (or Tse-Toung, 1893-1976), President of the Council and then of the Chinese Republic (1954-1959), to a Belgian diplomat. This mirror was included in the Patek Philippe exhibition, The Values of a Family Watch Company, St. Regis, Singapore, 2010.
Bibliography
• Abeler Jürgen, Zeit-Zeichen. Die tragbare Uhr von Henlein bis heute, Dortmund, Harenberg Kommunikation, 1983, pp. 02, 96-97.
• Auktionen Dr. Crott, Frankfurt-on-Main, auction, November 19, 2005, lot 364 (sold for the amount of €Euros 95 272.41 including buyer’s premium).
• Friess, Peter, The Emergence of the Portable Watch, Geneva, Patek Philippe Museum Editions, 2015, vol. III, p. 376.