BOUQUET, Londini (Londres)

Lot 10
Go to lot
Estimation :
10000 - 15000 EUR
Result with fees
Result : 12 350EUR
BOUQUET, Londini (Londres)
Puritan" single hand watch with double protective case Oval case on hinge for the watch, opening on the back for the winding key, bears an inscription in engraved letters "John Milton", the protective case with two notches for fixing the watch. Silvered dial with a single hand with Roman numerals for the indication of the hours, minute track, dots in excrescence for each hour, facilitating tactile reading. Mechanical movement with key winding, escapement with meeting wheel, spiral pre-balance, pierced and chiseled cock, spindle and casing, setting disc, signed on the plate "Bouquet Londini". Dim. 38,5 x 48,5 mm (watch) Dim. 43 x 53 mm (protective case) Bouquet, London. A celebrated watchmaker in the mid-17th century, he died in 1665 and is listed in every reference work, like the dictionary Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World, p. 35, by G.H. Baillie, N.A.G. Press Ltd, the FJ Britten dictionary, Old Clocks and their Makers, p. 707, and Le Dictionnaire des Horlogers Français, p. 72. This watch is very interesting as its origin can be guessed, given the objective elements present on this very fine example of a “Puritan” watch. The name “John Milton” engraved on the back implies that it belonged to the famous English poet, essayist, pamphleteer and civil servant John Milton (1608 - 1674), who wrote the celebrated “Paradise Lost”. He attended the prestigious St Paul's School in London and Christ's College, Cambridge before becoming Secretary for Foreign Tongues after the puritan victory of the Commonwealth Council of State, which ruled from 1649 to 1660. At this time, England and Wales were governed as a ‘quasi republic' after the civil war and the trial and execution of King Charles I. All these events coincide with the production date of this mid-17th century watch - but more importantly, the spikes on the dial provide evidence for this provenance, as we know that Milton began to lose his sight at the age of 40, and finally became completely blind. He probably commissioned this watch from the watchmaker Bouquet in London, given that his illustrious contemporary, Cromwell, also had a “Puritan” watch made by the famous English watchmaker Edward East. The latter, with Bouquet, was one of the founding members of the Clockmakers Company of London: the world's oldest watchmaking corporation, created in 1632.
My orders
Sale information
Sales conditions
Return to catalogue