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Breguet No. 2161 "Montre à répétition à quarts". A fine 18K gold openface à toc quarter repeating keywound cylinder watch, sold to Count Stanislas Potocki

SIGNED BREGUET ET FILS, NO. 2161, CASE NO. 1454, SOLD TO COUNT STANISLAS POTOCKI ON 31 DECEMBER 1807 FOR THE SUM OF 1,320 FRANCS

Details

Breguet No. 2161 "Montre à répétition à quarts". A fine 18K gold openface à toc quarter repeating keywound cylinder watch, sold to Count Stanislas Potocki
Signed Breguet et Fils, No. 2161, case no. 1454, sold to Count Stanislas Potocki on 31 December 1807 for the sum of 1,320 Francs
Cal. 22''' gilded ruby cylinder movement, plain three arm brass balance, pare-chute suspension on the top pivot, blued steel flat balance spring with bimetallic compensation curb on the regulator, à toc quarter repeating on two hammers onto two blocks in the case, gilt cuvette, white enamel dial, Breguet numerals, secret signature 2161 Breguet below 12 o'clock, blued steel Breguet hands, circular case, ribbed band, quarter repeating pull-twist push piece in the pendant, case no. 1454 by Jean-Louis Joly, cuvette signed Breguet No. 2161, dial signed Breguet et Fils and with secret signature below 12
52.5 mm. diam.

Provenance

Count Stanislas Kostka Potocki (1755 -1821)
The Polish nobleman, politician, writer, collector and patron of the arts was one of the most emblematic figures of the Age of Enlightenment in his country. A member of an old noble Polish family and son of General Eustachy Potocki, Stanislas was educated at the Warsaw Collegium Nobilium before studying literature and the arts in Wilanow.
On 2 June 1776, he married Princess Aleksandra Lubomirska, the daughter of Stanislas Lubomirski, a Grand Marshall of the Crown, also one of Breguet's faithful clients. In 1792, he became a General of the Army, participating in the Russo-Polish war of 1792, for the defense of the constitution of 3 May 1791. Count Potocki furthermore held the knighthood of the White Eagle and the Saint Stanislas Merits and was Great Master of the Polish Freemasons. From 1792 to 1797, he lived abroad, having left his country after its first dismemberment. He was arrested in Carlsbad after the uprising of Kosciuszko, then lived in captivity for eight months in Josephstadt. When the Great Duchy of Warsaw was created he became the Senator Palatine, Head of the Council of State and of the Council of Ministers. Napoleon made him Minister of Culture and Education, and he retained these posts even after the annexation of the Polish Kingdom by Russia in 1815. Potocki founded the University of Warsaw in 1816 and was elected President of the Senate in 1818, a post which he held until 1820. An art lover and avid collector, he devoted his fortune to promoting literature, sciences and arts, and built up a beautiful collection of paintings, Etruscan vases and engravings in his home, Wilanow Palace. In 1805, in a visionary move, Potocki opened his art collection and a portion of the castle to the public, thus making Wilanow one of Poland's earliest museums. Count Stanislas Polocki died on 14 September 1821 and was buried at Wilanow.

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Lot Essay

Accoding to the Archives of Montres Breguet, the present "montre à répétition à quarts, boite or no. 1454 par Joly", quarter repeating watch with gold case no. 1454 by Joly, was sold to Count Stanislas Potocki on 31 December 1807 for the sum of 1,320 Francs.

A patron of the arts and admirer of Abraham-Louis Breguet's work, Count Potocki bought 10 watches made by the celebrated watchmakers between 1805 and 1815, most notably the "Montre garde-temps à tourbillon" No. 1176 in 1809 (see Breguet - Watchmakers since 1775 by Emmanuel Breguet, p. 220). This historically important 18K gold openface pocket chronometer with four minute tourbillon, échappement naturel, double subsidiary seconds, power reserve, stop-seconds feature and gold regulator dial was sold in this saleroom on 12 May 2014 for CHF821,000 to the prestigious Breguet Museum (lot 294).

We are indebted to Mr. Emmanuel Breguet for his valuable assistance in researching the present timepiece.

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