Watch in shape of lyre with double-headed eagle
about 1870
Object PlaceRussia (?)
Medium/Technique18k gold, enamel, pearl
Dimensions3.2 x 7.3 cm (1 1/4 x 2 7/8 in.)
Credit LineBequest of Mrs. Arthur Croft—The Gardner Brewer Collection
Accession number01.6627
On View
Not on viewClassificationsJewelry / Adornment
ProvenanceBefore 1898, purchased at Tiffany and Co., New York, by Caroline Abigail Brewer (Mrs. Arthur) Croft (b. 1833 - d. 1898), Boston; 1901, bequest of Mrs. Arthur Croft to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 1, 1901)
NOTE: When this watch was bequeathed to the MFA in 1901, it was said to have been "given by the Emperor of Russia to the Emperor of China. It was stolen at a loot [sic] and bought by an agent of Tiffany's from whom Mrs. Croft bought it." The story that accompanied the watch is very likely fanciful, perhaps intended to enhance its prestige at a time when--after the looting of Beijing in 1860--European and American collectors sought objects from Imperial China. The double-headed eagle motif may have suggested a Russian origin, but the hallmark on the watch indicates that it is French.
NOTE: When this watch was bequeathed to the MFA in 1901, it was said to have been "given by the Emperor of Russia to the Emperor of China. It was stolen at a loot [sic] and bought by an agent of Tiffany's from whom Mrs. Croft bought it." The story that accompanied the watch is very likely fanciful, perhaps intended to enhance its prestige at a time when--after the looting of Beijing in 1860--European and American collectors sought objects from Imperial China. The double-headed eagle motif may have suggested a Russian origin, but the hallmark on the watch indicates that it is French.
