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Lot Essay
With Breguet Certificate No. 3744 dated 30 April 1982.
The present watch is an exceptionally fine example of one of Breguet's watches made for the Ottoman market, distinguished by the lavishly decorated "cabriolet" cases made by Joly, one of the firm's most emminent casemakers, and the enamel scene signed Sturm for Pierre-Henri Sturm, a renowned enamel painter from Geneva.
The lavishly decorated cases and finely painted enamel scenes demonstrate the superb craftsmanship of 19th century watchmaking and enamelling in Geneva. The two cases are conceived for the watch to be used either "open" and showing the dial or "closed" showing the back of the inner case, hence the designation "Cabriolet". The case and frame are of such outstandingly high quality, allowing the inner case to fit so perfectly into the outer case, that the two sides show virtually no difference, neither visible nor tangible, when used as hunter case.
Abraham-Louis Breguet's timepieces made for the Turkish market captivate by their opulently enamelled, brightly coloured decoration, ostentatiously contrasting with the neo-classical, often almost understated design of his traditional watches. Today only rarely appearing in public, "survivors" of this unique category of the famed watchmaker's production are always highly coveted trophies amongst collectors of these exceptional timepieces.
The relationship between Breguet and the Ottoman Empire began in the early 19th century, at the time when trade relations between Breguet and his main markets, notably England, Spain and Russia, were suspended by the Napoleonic wars. The success of his watches in Turkey was largely due to Esseid Ali Effendi, nicknamed "The Sublime Portal", who had been sent to Paris as the Ottoman Ambassador in response to the arrival of Marshal Sebastiani as French Ambassador in Constantinople. In Paris Ali became acquainted with the famous diplomat Talleyrand, friend and faithful client of Breguet, who introduced the two men. The friendship between Esseid Ali and Abraham-Louis Breguet contributed to the latter's early awareness of the importance of the Ottoman market, especially since Turkey was the only major power still allied with Napoleonic France.
In 1798, Esseid Ali bought his first watch from Breguet, followed by a continuous stream of orders after his return to Turkey four years later, ranging from highly complicated watches to simple models as well as thermometers and barometers. In his letters, Ali described in detail the aesthetic features required to appeal to clients in his country, including lavishly decorated and enamelled inner and outer cases in vivid colours, such as scarlet or "Turkish" red, and as of 1803 white enamel dials with Turkish rather than Arabic or Roman numerals, radically different from the neo-classical style which Breguet had so successfully introduced into the watch industry,
In 1804 Esseid Ali had become the Minister of the Navy and commissioned the finest possible repeating watch for the Ottoman Emperor Selim III. Highly pleased by the watch, the Emperor requested a second watch identical to the first. With his growing popularity in the Ottoman Empire, Breguet decided to send Leroy (or Le Roy), a skilled and trustworthy watchmaker, as his representative to Turkey. Leroy settled in Constantinople and as of 1811 he received a yearly average of six to eight extremely valuable pieces. Geneva-based workshops specialising in opulently enamelled watches and familiar with Ottoman motifs enabled Breguet to meet the strong demand from Turkey. These deliveries were supplemented by more moderately priced and sold either under the Breguet signature or under that of "Leroy, Élève de Breguet", Leroy, pupil of Breguet (see lots 240 - 242 in this auction).
In 1813, Napoleon chose a "Sympatique" clock covered in precious stones, worth 35,000 Francs, one of the most expensive object ever made by A.-L. Breguet (see Breguet - Watchmakers since 1775 by Emmanuel Breguet, p. 234), as a gift to mark the instatement of Sultan Mahmud II. The Sultan was so delighted that he assigned Breguet's representative Leroy with the maintenance of all the timepieces in his palace.
Today, Istanbul's Topkapi Palace Museum owns several of Breguet's finest creations specially made for Turkey, including the magnificent "Sympathique" clock. These masterpieces impressively emphasize the successful symbioses of avant-garde watch technology introduced by Breguet and the evocative, splendidly decorative style elements of the Ottoman Empire.
Pierre Henri Sturm (1785-1869)
Listed in Dictionnaire des artistes de l'école française au XIX siècle, Charles Gabet, 1834, as enamel painter at rue St. Honoré, born in Geneva in 1785, pupil of Henri, also painter of this city. Pierre Henri Sturm specialized in portraits, landscapes, flowers and other motifs. Most notable amongst his work are an enamel miniature depicting "Les trois ages de l'homme" after François, Baron Gérard, signed Sturm lower right, in the collections of the Musée de Louvre in Paris, the enamel decoration on a superb gold vase belonging to Count Demidoff, and painted hunting scenes on a pair of bracelets commissioned by the Prince of Bourbon.
The present watch is an exceptionally fine example of one of Breguet's watches made for the Ottoman market, distinguished by the lavishly decorated "cabriolet" cases made by Joly, one of the firm's most emminent casemakers, and the enamel scene signed Sturm for Pierre-Henri Sturm, a renowned enamel painter from Geneva.
The lavishly decorated cases and finely painted enamel scenes demonstrate the superb craftsmanship of 19th century watchmaking and enamelling in Geneva. The two cases are conceived for the watch to be used either "open" and showing the dial or "closed" showing the back of the inner case, hence the designation "Cabriolet". The case and frame are of such outstandingly high quality, allowing the inner case to fit so perfectly into the outer case, that the two sides show virtually no difference, neither visible nor tangible, when used as hunter case.
Abraham-Louis Breguet's timepieces made for the Turkish market captivate by their opulently enamelled, brightly coloured decoration, ostentatiously contrasting with the neo-classical, often almost understated design of his traditional watches. Today only rarely appearing in public, "survivors" of this unique category of the famed watchmaker's production are always highly coveted trophies amongst collectors of these exceptional timepieces.
The relationship between Breguet and the Ottoman Empire began in the early 19th century, at the time when trade relations between Breguet and his main markets, notably England, Spain and Russia, were suspended by the Napoleonic wars. The success of his watches in Turkey was largely due to Esseid Ali Effendi, nicknamed "The Sublime Portal", who had been sent to Paris as the Ottoman Ambassador in response to the arrival of Marshal Sebastiani as French Ambassador in Constantinople. In Paris Ali became acquainted with the famous diplomat Talleyrand, friend and faithful client of Breguet, who introduced the two men. The friendship between Esseid Ali and Abraham-Louis Breguet contributed to the latter's early awareness of the importance of the Ottoman market, especially since Turkey was the only major power still allied with Napoleonic France.
In 1798, Esseid Ali bought his first watch from Breguet, followed by a continuous stream of orders after his return to Turkey four years later, ranging from highly complicated watches to simple models as well as thermometers and barometers. In his letters, Ali described in detail the aesthetic features required to appeal to clients in his country, including lavishly decorated and enamelled inner and outer cases in vivid colours, such as scarlet or "Turkish" red, and as of 1803 white enamel dials with Turkish rather than Arabic or Roman numerals, radically different from the neo-classical style which Breguet had so successfully introduced into the watch industry,
In 1804 Esseid Ali had become the Minister of the Navy and commissioned the finest possible repeating watch for the Ottoman Emperor Selim III. Highly pleased by the watch, the Emperor requested a second watch identical to the first. With his growing popularity in the Ottoman Empire, Breguet decided to send Leroy (or Le Roy), a skilled and trustworthy watchmaker, as his representative to Turkey. Leroy settled in Constantinople and as of 1811 he received a yearly average of six to eight extremely valuable pieces. Geneva-based workshops specialising in opulently enamelled watches and familiar with Ottoman motifs enabled Breguet to meet the strong demand from Turkey. These deliveries were supplemented by more moderately priced and sold either under the Breguet signature or under that of "Leroy, Élève de Breguet", Leroy, pupil of Breguet (see lots 240 - 242 in this auction).
In 1813, Napoleon chose a "Sympatique" clock covered in precious stones, worth 35,000 Francs, one of the most expensive object ever made by A.-L. Breguet (see Breguet - Watchmakers since 1775 by Emmanuel Breguet, p. 234), as a gift to mark the instatement of Sultan Mahmud II. The Sultan was so delighted that he assigned Breguet's representative Leroy with the maintenance of all the timepieces in his palace.
Today, Istanbul's Topkapi Palace Museum owns several of Breguet's finest creations specially made for Turkey, including the magnificent "Sympathique" clock. These masterpieces impressively emphasize the successful symbioses of avant-garde watch technology introduced by Breguet and the evocative, splendidly decorative style elements of the Ottoman Empire.
Pierre Henri Sturm (1785-1869)
Listed in Dictionnaire des artistes de l'école française au XIX siècle, Charles Gabet, 1834, as enamel painter at rue St. Honoré, born in Geneva in 1785, pupil of Henri, also painter of this city. Pierre Henri Sturm specialized in portraits, landscapes, flowers and other motifs. Most notable amongst his work are an enamel miniature depicting "Les trois ages de l'homme" after François, Baron Gérard, signed Sturm lower right, in the collections of the Musée de Louvre in Paris, the enamel decoration on a superb gold vase belonging to Count Demidoff, and painted hunting scenes on a pair of bracelets commissioned by the Prince of Bourbon.