975,000 HKD
“Blind Man's Buff” Attributed to Jaquet Droz, Geneva, circa 1790. Made for the Chinese market. Rare and magnificent 18K gold enamel and pearl-set urn form watch with center seconds. Original plush lined morocco fitted box with gold tooled detail and Royal crown. White enamel with Roman numerals and quarterminute markers, outer seconds markers, the reverse numbered463. Pierced gold “urn” hands. 63 x 37 mm., rectangular giltbrass with canted corners, the plates engraved with a mask andscrolling foliage, large going barrel, cylinder escapement, brassthree-arm balance with flat-rim, blued steel flat spiral springwith regulator.Dim. 123 mm. high. Width 66 mm. Notes Urn-shaped watches of this type, fitted with a seal foot, rarely appear at auction. The movement, although made in Geneva is very much inspired by the English style and is engraved with the "Green Man", a figure of good fortune and rebirth from European folklore. The construction of the present watch leaves little doubt that it is the work of Jaquet Droz and can be com-pared to other unsigned pieces which typify the magnificent objects that made the reputation of the Jaquet Droz firm. These watches were produced as wonderful individual presentation pieces and the original morocco leather box sold with the present watch is tooled with a Royal crown, attesting to its illustrious provenance. The charming painted enamel scene decorating the present watch depicts children playing the traditional game of blind man's
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2005-02-20
