Piguet et Capt à Genève

• 長方形錶盤，中央蓋面飾彩繪琺瑯古典畫，描繪音樂課上一手持樂譜的年輕女子及兩名兒童，其中一位吹奏笛子 • 彩繪琺瑯畫周圍飾黃金蛋及標狀圖案，飾黑色線條，兩側飾金色古典人物造型 • 粉藍琺瑯底色上繪兩個人物，右方彈奏豎琴、左方提著盛水器，右邊蓋下藏多彩金色自動人偶，其中女士坐彈豎琴，男士跟隨拍子踏腳，手持單片眼鏡前臂前後擺動，人偶下方有一籠中鳥，音樂奏完後從籠中飛出，下方有一只狗站立等候，配彩繪琺瑯內景 • 另一面是白色琺瑯錶盤，6時位置備阿拉伯數字時標圈、月亮形指針，上方圓形鏤空面板展示備拱弧調節器之擺輪 • 車床雕刻藍色琺瑯底色周邊飾金色花環及垂葉圖案，部分飾白色琺瑯，側面及底面飾透明藍色琺瑯，底色為車床雕刻波浪紋，正面及底面四角雕金色花籃配白色琺瑯 • 長方形機芯備工字輪擒縱機構，固定盤機械驅動人偶及音樂 • 鐘錶及人偶之機芯夾板刻有Piguet et Capt a Genève 品牌標誌，編號分別為89及91，盒子印有GG(B) 部分模糊印記 • 附Asprey Exhibition Catalogue（Asprey 展覽圖錄）

* 拍品資料以英文圖錄為準。

Galerie Horologerie Ancienne, Geneva March 1975, lot 138
Asprey Private Collection, London 1980's- 1995
Current owner 1995 until now.

Magic, Music and Motion,  Asprey, New York, 1980's,

Magic, Music and Motion, Exhibition Catalogue Asprey, New York, 1980's, Exhibit 12

 

Please note that the movement has not been checked for timekeeping accuracy and Sotheby's will not be held responsible for any repairs should they be require. Movement and automaton are in working condition while cataloguing. The enamel has been beautifully preserved with only a very minor lack to the back right panel edge. The centre enamel painting is of the highest quality possible for a snuff box of that period. Overall this is a treasure piece from both technical and aesthetical view. Definitely a museum quality piece. With associated seed pearl-set key.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. All dimensions in catalogue descriptions are approximate. Condition reports may not specify mechanical replacements or imperfections to the movement, case, dial, pendulum, separate base(s) or dome. Watches in water-resistant cases have been opened to examine movements but no warranties are made that the watches are currently water-resistant. Please note that we do not guarantee the authenticity of any individual component parts, such as wheels, hands, crowns, crystals, screws, bracelets and leather bands, since subsequent repairs and restoration work may have resulted in the replacement of original parts. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue. In particular, please note it is the purchaser's responsibility to comply with any applicable import and export matters, particularly in relation to lots incorporating materials from endangered species.NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

**Please be advised that bands made of materials derived from endangered or otherwise protected species (i.e. alligator and crocodile) are not sold with the watches and are for display purposes only. We reserve the right to remove these bands prior to shipping.

Important Notice regarding importation into the United States of Rolex watches
Sotheby's cannot arrange for the delivery of Rolex watches to the United States because U.S. laws restricts the import of Rolex watches. The buyer or a designated agent may collect the property in the country of sale."

This magnificent three compartment box was exhibited at Asprey's New York, in the 1980's.  The Exhibition titled ‘Magic, Music and Motion, an Exhibition of rare 18th and 19th Century Watches, Boxes and Automata from the Asprey Private Collection’, was exhibited at Asprey’s New York Fifth Avenue premises.

Piguet & Capt’s automaton in the present lot comprises a rare variation of the music lesson, where the young woman strums the harp with both hands rather than the more typically found one hand, the gentleman leaning on her chair, may be her teacher or perhaps her suitor.  The gentleman figure is particularly rare given the fact that he moves his hand to the beat of the music whilst holding a monocle. Most endearing and quite uncommon in these miniature mechanical tableaus is the bird cage above, with a bird that springs out of the cage at the end of the tune.  

The combination of music, automata, and time piece places this in the rarest class of boxes made in Geneva during the start of the 19^th Century.

Isaac Daniel Piguet (1775 – 1841) and Henri Capt (1773 – 1837?) were partners from 1802 to 1811 in the firm bearing their name, Piguet & Capt.  The duo are considered amongst the most important makers of small automata at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries. Examples of their craftsmanship are exhibited in the world's foremost collections such as the Patek Philippe Museum, Geneva.

The snuff box is stamped by the firm of Guidon, Gide et Blondet who were active in Geneva between 1801 and 1804. The formal closure of the Geneva firm of Guidon, Rémond, Gide & Co. on 1 January 1801 was followed by a division of the partners who, on the same day, opened on the one hand, Rémond, Lamy & Co. and on the other, Guidon Gide & Blondet.

The marks of all three firms are to be found on the best Geneva gold and enamel snuff boxes of the period, such as a snuff box depicting Carlos IV of Spain and his consort Maria Luisa of Parma being welcomed to Barcelona on 1 September 1802 (sold 3 July 2012 at Sotheby’s). It was rare to record such a precise event on a Geneva box which also meant that it gave independent confirmation of the date of the mark.  

The enamel is possibly by Jean-Abraham Lissignol (1749-1819), known as Pére Lissignol to distinguish him from his son Abraham who was also an enameller in Geneva; Pére Lissignol was trained by Jean-Marc Roux. As well as painting plaques for snuff boxes, he also supplied workshops with portrait miniatures for watch cases and boxes. He appears to have specialised in allegorical subjects particularly those including plump cherubs. A box in the Patek Philippe Museum shows such a scene identified as the allegory of The Arts and Nature. In 1806, Père Lissignol wrote eloquently to the Paris authorities (Geneva then being occupied by France) suggesting that the Imperial Court should buy enameled trinkets to encourage the failing trade in Geneva, just as they had bought Lyons silk to help that market recover (Geneva Archives).

For two other known three compartment boxes with similar automata see: Chapuis, A., Gelis, E., Le Monde des Automates, Tome II, p. 47, fig. 316, signed Isaac Del Piguet, a Genève, now in the David Salomons Collection of Watches and Clocks L.A. Mayer Museum  for Islamic Art in Jerusalem, and also illustrated in the catalogue of the collection Daniel, G., Markarian, O., The Art of Time, p. 116, 2009, pp. 116 -117; Antiquorum,  The Sandberg Watch Collection  March 31-April 1, 2001, Geneva, lot 127; The Sandoz Collection.

For another automata box with a similar enamel subject, see Antiquorum, October 2005, Hong Kong, Lot 121.

For a discussion of Swiss gold boxes, Enamels of the World 1700-2000, The Khalili Collections, Chapter 9, pp. 293-317, by Julia Clarke.