Jewellery, Watches, Silver and Objects of Vertu

Patek, Genewie. A gold hunting cased watch made for the Polish market with engraved portrait of the Polish General Tadeusz Kosciuszko, circa 1850.
Movement: gilded, lever escapement.
Dial: white enamel, Roman numerals, subsidiary seconds.
Case: 18ct gold, gold cuvette, engine-turned covers, engraved portrait of General Tadeusz Kosciuszko, rear cover with coat of arms.
Signed: cuvette signed Patek Genewie and numbered 56120.
Dimensions: diameter 44mm.
£800-£1,000

Tadeusz Kościuszko (b. 1746) was a Polish general and statesman. Born into a noble family and educated at Warsaw’s military academy, his talents soon attracted the king’s notice and he was sent to Paris to further his studies. Returning to Poland in 1774, he took a position as a tutor in General Sosnowski’s household, but after an unsuccessful attempt to elope with one of his daughters, he fled to France, before heading to America in 1776 to join the Independence War and fight against the British. He was employed in the fortification of defences, and his state-of-the-art methods saw him made Chief of the Engineering Corps. In 1781, Kościuszko conducted the Battle of Ninety-Six in South Carolina, and in 1783 was awarded US citizenship and promoted to Brigadier General in recognition of his services. Kościuszko returned to Poland in 1784, but could not secure a military commission and found himself living on a small estate in relative poverty - exacerbated by his extraordinary (for the time) decision to free his serfs from service. With the arrival of liberal reforms, Kościuszko returned to the military in 1789. Russia invaded shortly afterwards in 1792; using his talents and experience, Kościuszko led the Polish to victory at the Battle of Dubienka on 18 July, despite being outnumbered by the Russians five to one. When the king eventually surrendered, however, liberal-minded statesmen such as Kościuszko were forced into exile. After gathering support in Europe, he returned to Kraków in 1794 to launch an uprising. Despite gaining victories with their unconventional weaponry and battle tactics, the liberal army was finally defeated at Maciejowice, and Kościuszko was taken to St Petersburg as prisoner. He was released after Catherine II’s death in 1796, and thereafter spent time in America - establishing a firm friendship with Thomas Jefferson - and later in Europe. He eventually settled at Solothurn in Switzerland, where he died in 1817, and is buried in Kraków - a large burial mound has been erected in his honour just outside the city.