5,750 CHF
Le sommeil dangereux French, enamel attributed to Jean Etienne Liotard circa 1770. Very fine 20K gold and painted on enamel watch. Two-body, Louis XV, back finely painted onenamel with a scene depicting Pan surprising thesleeping Diana and the Nymph, Syrinx. Whiteenamel, radial Roman numerals, outer minute divi-sionswith five-minute Arabic markers, winding aper-tureat 4 o’clock. Gold "Louis XV" hands. 36 mm(16’’’), hinged, frosted gilt full-plate with pentagonal balusterpillars, fusee and chain, verge escapement, steel balance with flatbalance spring, continental cock.Signed on the movement. Diam. 45 mm. Notes Syrinx and Pan Syrinx was a nymph much beloved by the satyrs and spirits of the wood; but she would have none of them. She was a faithful wor-shipper of Diana. One day, as she was returning from the chase, Pan saw her and was struck by her beauty. She ran away but Pan followed her day after day, night after night. She could find safety only under the protection of Diana. But even then, Pan discovered her while she was sleeping. Jean Etienne Liotard (1702-1789). A painter and engraver, he was the son of Antoine, a jeweler in Montélimar, France. He began his professional life by a goldsmith’s apprenticeship served with Daniel Gardelle in 1723, then with Jean Baptiste Massé in Paris later that same year. He visited Italy in 1736, along with the Marquis de Puysieux, then went to Turkey with Sir William Ponsorby. He painted Empress Maria-Theresa and her family in Vie
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2004-04-24
