905,500 CHF
The Spring. Attributed to Piguet et Meylan à Genève, made for the Chinese market, circa 1820.Magnificent and rare 18K gold and enameled, quarter repeating musical triple-train automaton watch with two musicians, set with half-pearls and turquoises. Eccentric, off-white enamel over gold, Romanumerals, outer minute ring within an enamel countryside scene showing a castle with the sea in the background and a classical urn in a corner of the castle wall. Multicolored gold figures of a boy playing a triangle and a girl playing the hurdy-gurdy. The players’ arms are pivoted and are driven by the musical movement, giving the illusion that the music comes from the small triangle and the hurdy-gurdy. 20’’’, fire-gilded, cylinder escapement, gold balance, blued-steel flat balance spring,all three trains run from motor barrels, the music disc with pins on both sides working on 22 vibrating blades, the automaton is driven by the musical movement and is controled by a cam mounted in the center of the music disk, all-or-nothing repeating train, the seconds hand is mounted directly on the 4th wheel, the music plays every hour on the hour or on demand, repeating on gongs when the pendant is pressed.Diam. 55 mm. Notes The present lot was exhibited at the exhibition 'Magic, Music and Motion, of rare 18th and 19th Century Watches, Boxes and Automata', as exhibit No. 11 and is illustrated in the catalogue on page 21.Although not signed, the workmanship, the details and the ebauche are so
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2000-10-15
