487,500 CHF
The Tightrope DancerDu Bois et Fils, Le Locle, circa 1810. Exceptional 18 ct. gold quarter repeating two-train musical automaton watch. The automaton scene features a tightrope dancer made of multi-coloured gold, dancing on a twisted gold rope, he bounces on his right leg while kicking the left, and adjusts the position of his balance pole, the rope flexing realistically with his every move. Two musicians accompany his dancing, a man playing the lyre and a young woman playing the guitar, with animated hands and arms, all against a finely-painted Alpine landscape with a lake, trees, and rocks, and with a village and mountainsn the background. Between the players there is a small eccentric engine-turned gold dial with white enamel cartouches, Breguet numerals and outer enamel minute ring. Blued-steel Breguet hands. Notes Along with the 'Moses' watch and the 'Theatres', Tightrope Dancer watches may be considered among the rarest automaton watches from the Neuchâtel area. No more than six are known.Du Bois et Filsthe company was established by Philippe Dubois (1738-1808) and became one of the most eminent in the Neuchâtel area for over two centuries.'Le Monde des Automates',Chapuis et Gelis, Paris, 1928, Vol. II, p. 53, fig. 325. Chapuis et Droz, 'Les Automates', Neuchatel, 1949, p.184, figs. 197-199. (Sandoz Collection, also illustrated in the Chateau des Monts Catalogue).
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2001-03-31
