6,250 CHF
BASSEREAU THREE HAMMER CARILLON QUARTER REPEATING H(ilaire) Bassereau à Paris, case No. 1140. Made circa 1805. Fine and rare, large, 18K gold, three hammer and three gong carillon quarter-repeating watch Three-body, “Empire”, master mark VP, with reeded bezel and band, engine-turned back. Hinged gilt brass cuvette. Gold with radial Roman numerals on a brushed chapter ring, outer minute ring, engine-turned center. Blued steel spear hands with pierced tips. 53 mm, gilt brass, free-standing barrel, jeweled cylinder escapement, three-arm gold balance, fl at balance spring, index regulator, repeating with three hammers on three polished steel square-section gongs activated by depressing the pendant. Dial and cuvette signed. Diam. 59 mm. Notes Jean-Hilaire Bassereau (1743-1806) was an eminent maker working in the Palais Royal. He was possibly a pupil of Lepine, as a number of his watches strikingly resemble Lepine’s in their fi nish and details. He was also very versatile, on one hand making luxurious pieces such as carillon watches or singing bird watches, and on the other well-executed but simple watches. He proved on occasion that precision timekeeping was not foreign to him, as is proven by a chronometer with pivoted detent escapement preserved in the British Museum. Subsequently, the business moved to rue Vivienne, where it was continued by his son. It moved again to the Rue Neuve des Petits Champs. In 1810 it was taken over by Bassereau’s widow under which name it was r
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2012-11-11
