333,500 CHF
The Sailor's WeddingPuy'Roche, attributed to Piguet & Capt, Geneva, circa 1805. Magnificent and extremely rare 18 ct. gold and enamel, pearl-set musical spyglass with concealed automaton scene and built-in watch, made for the Islamic market. Notes Sometimes called the merry-go-round, and sometimes revolving theatres, these pieces belong to the highest class of animated boxes., They are extremely rare, one survives in the Sandoz collection, illustrated in Les Automates, by A. Chapuis and E. Droz, p. 192, fig. 220-221.The movement, although not signed, was most likely made by Piguet Lot Capt. The piece is unusually well-finished, even for this type of luxury objects, with extreme attention paid to the execution of the smallest details.Puy'RocheA highly reputed watchmaker of the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century. He made montres de fantaisie with automata and music, spyglasses, and tabatières with music and automata, whose cases were richly decorated with painted on enamel scenes and champlevé.Piguet Lot CaptFor a biography, see lot 47.
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2001-03-31