Watch in Pair Case with the Triumph of Mordecai

Description The case has been deeply embossed with the Triumph of Mordecai (an Old Testament story popularized in Jean Racine's 1698 drama Esther). The composition is taken from a cartoon (preparatory study) for a tapestry painted by Jean-François de Troy in 1739. The movement's backplate is inscribed "Perigal London no. 1501," referring either to John or Francis Perigal. The latter was watchmaker to King George III. The watchcase originally contained a printed sales ticket from Robert Cooper, a clock and watchmaker on the island of Gibraltar.

Provenance Anatole Demidoff, Prince of San Donato (1812-1870); Tiffany and Company, New York, prior to 1893 [mode of acquisition unknown] (on 1893 list, no. 79); Henry Walters, Baltimore, after 1893 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Inscriptions [Inscription] On backplate of movement: Perigal London no. 1501

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters, after 1893