Important Watches
Important Watches
A JEWELLED GOLD AND ENAMEL AUTOMATON CASE IN THE SHAPE OF A BUTTERFLY, GENEVA, 1815-1820
This lot has been withdrawn
Lot Details
Description
A JEWELLED GOLD AND ENAMEL AUTOMATON CASE IN THE SHAPE OF A BUTTERFLY, GENEVA, 1815-1820
the upper surface painted and set with gems and pearls to resemble a colourful peacock butterfly with pearl-set antennae and small ruby eyes, the base chequered in black and white enamel with leafy gold ornaments, yellow and pale blue enamel stripes on the side, the central circular section now lacking automaton movement, on chains depending from a sword-shaped pin, unmarked apart from later control mark, but probably the work of Jean-George Rémond
6cm., 2⅜in. wide
The Sir David Salomons Collection, cat. no. 178
Vera Bryce Salomons
L.A. Mayer Memorial Institute, Jerusalem, inventory no. WA 65-70
George Daniels & Ohannes Markarian, Watches and Clocks in the Sir David Salomons Collection, 1980, no. 178, pp. 296-297
This elegant breloque formerly contained a small automaton (which disappeared after the robbery in 1983) rather than the more usual watch. The Sir David Salomons collection also contains a butterfly-shaped snuff box with watch, music and automaton movements by Piguet & Meylan (Daniels and Markarian, no. 98, WA 42-70, pp.166-167). Although neither piece has a case maker's mark, it is probable that both were the work of Rémond, Lamy, Mercier & Co., since very similarly-decorated and shaped snuff boxes without movements exist with their maker's mark (for example, see A. Kenneth Snowman, Eighteenth Century Gold Boxes of Europe, Woodbridge, 1990, pl. 748b).