Usigned

Usigned, Geneva, circa 1790. Magnificent and rare 18K rose gold, enameled quarter repeating watch with concealed erotic automaton. White enamel, convex, Roman numerals, outer Arabic minutes, gold hands. 23’’’, full plate fire-gilded, inverted, cylinder esapement, plain brass three-arm balance, flat balance spring going barrel, all-or-nothing repeating on two small bells located between the plates, activated by pressing the pendant, independent train moving the erotic automaton by means of a cam.Diam. 63 mm. Notes The watch is illustrated in 'Les Heures de l’Amour', by ROLAND CARRERA, Editions Scriptar / Antiquorum Editions, 1993, p.74. A similar watch from the van Gauvenbergh Collection was sold as lot 568 by Antiquorum, Hong Kong, on May 30, 1989.The enamel scene is after 'Hector disant adieu à son fils Astyanax et à Andromaque' by Jean Restout (1692-1768) from the Musee des Beaux-Arts of Orleans.Jean Louis Richter (1766-1841). He learned his art under David-Etienne-Roux and Philippe-Samuel-Théodore Roux, going on to become a renowned enamel painter. He specialized in landscapes and particularly lake- and sea-scapes, often depicting ships in harbor or in full battle with Men-of-War. He also did portraits and hunting scenes. Although his signature, in script, appears on some of his work, more often than not his paintings are unsigned. They can, however, be clearly recognized as being hisy the style and the quality of the work. He applied his art principally to watch