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Lot Essay
The ‘Moses’ automaton watches are perhaps the most famous and iconic among all the Swiss automaton timepieces made in the early years of the 19th century. These extremely rare and highly complex automatons somehow mesmerize the viewer, and once seen in action they linger always in one’s memory thereafter. The sheer difficulty of conceiving and realizing a mechanical movement capable of operating a series of delayed actions and combining it with a varicoloured gold and enamel scene of premier quality is a paragon of watchmaking, paying tribute to the outstanding skills of Swiss master watchmakers, casemakers, jewellers and enamellers of the period.
To the best of our knowledge, this spectacular specimen is the first to be offered at international auction in a decade. For the past almost 20 years it has been revered as part of one of the world’s great private watch collections, it is an exciting moment indeed that Christie’s is able to give today’s collectors the once in a generation chance to own one of these most elusive of automaton watches.
The choice of scene is derived from the book of Exodus (Greek for departure, expedition, procession), the second book of the Hebrew bible and the Old Testament. The Book of Exodus tells how Moses leads the Israelites out of Egypt and through the wilderness to Mount Sinai, where Yahweh reveals himself and offers them a Covenant: they are to keep his Torah (i.e. law, instruction), and in return he will be their God and give them the land of Canaan. In Exodus 17:1-17, the Israelites encamped at Rephidim, there was no water and the people quarrelled with Moses. (Exodus 17:1-2). God told Moses to strike the rock at Horeb to produce water, and they called the place Massah (trial) and Meribah (quarrel) (Exodus 17:5-7).
The extremely complex automata of realistically simulates the scene in three sequences: Moses strikes the rock twice with his staff, the rock opening to reveal a flowing waterfall, framed by two kneeling Israelites drinking the water from their goblets. An opening underneath the scene reveals a second automaton scene comprising two putti striking a bell apparently in unison with the repeating. The varicoloured gold appliques are of highest quality and impress by their richness and the finely chased details but also the realistically flowing water simulated by a revolving glass rod. The superb quality of the painted enamel background depicting the Children of Israel beneath the Eye of God brilliantly illustrates the celebrated art of enamel miniatures originating from Geneva in the early 19th century.
Only five "Moses" automaton watches are known to have survived, all are slightly differing in form, size, finish and enamelling. Each of these horological masterpieces is today a part of the world's most prestigious collections:
1 - The Patek Philippe Museum, Geneva.
2 - The Sandoz Collection, Musée de l'Horlogerie du Locle, Château des Monts, Le Locle, Switzerland.
3 - The Beyer Clock and Watch Museum, Zürich.
4 - Christie’s Geneva, May 16, 2011, lot 71, by tradition given as a gift by Empress Eugénie of France, wife of Napoleon III, to Field Marshal Lintorn Simmons GCB GCMG.
5 - The present watch, consigned by an exceptional collector.
The present ‘Moses’ automaton watch can firmly be attributed to the Neuchâtel maker Charles Ducommun when compared to two of the other known examples; the watch sold at Christie’s in 2011 was signed ‘Ch. Ducommun dit Boudrit’ and bears identical casemaker’s initials ‘FTD’ to the present watch; the specimen in the Sandoz Collection which is illustrated in Chapuis ‘Les Automates’ and in ‘La Montre des origines au XIXe siècle' by Claudia Cardinal, has very similar movement construction and also identical casemaker's initials to both other watches.
Charles Ducommun dit Boudrit or Boudry
Charles Ducommun, also called Boudrit or Boudry, was a master watchmaker from Neuchâtel. He worked in Madrid before settling in Geneva where he became particularly renowned for his complicated watches featuring equation of time, calendars, jump hours, automata and others.
To the best of our knowledge, this spectacular specimen is the first to be offered at international auction in a decade. For the past almost 20 years it has been revered as part of one of the world’s great private watch collections, it is an exciting moment indeed that Christie’s is able to give today’s collectors the once in a generation chance to own one of these most elusive of automaton watches.
The choice of scene is derived from the book of Exodus (Greek for departure, expedition, procession), the second book of the Hebrew bible and the Old Testament. The Book of Exodus tells how Moses leads the Israelites out of Egypt and through the wilderness to Mount Sinai, where Yahweh reveals himself and offers them a Covenant: they are to keep his Torah (i.e. law, instruction), and in return he will be their God and give them the land of Canaan. In Exodus 17:1-17, the Israelites encamped at Rephidim, there was no water and the people quarrelled with Moses. (Exodus 17:1-2). God told Moses to strike the rock at Horeb to produce water, and they called the place Massah (trial) and Meribah (quarrel) (Exodus 17:5-7).
The extremely complex automata of realistically simulates the scene in three sequences: Moses strikes the rock twice with his staff, the rock opening to reveal a flowing waterfall, framed by two kneeling Israelites drinking the water from their goblets. An opening underneath the scene reveals a second automaton scene comprising two putti striking a bell apparently in unison with the repeating. The varicoloured gold appliques are of highest quality and impress by their richness and the finely chased details but also the realistically flowing water simulated by a revolving glass rod. The superb quality of the painted enamel background depicting the Children of Israel beneath the Eye of God brilliantly illustrates the celebrated art of enamel miniatures originating from Geneva in the early 19th century.
Only five "Moses" automaton watches are known to have survived, all are slightly differing in form, size, finish and enamelling. Each of these horological masterpieces is today a part of the world's most prestigious collections:
1 - The Patek Philippe Museum, Geneva.
2 - The Sandoz Collection, Musée de l'Horlogerie du Locle, Château des Monts, Le Locle, Switzerland.
3 - The Beyer Clock and Watch Museum, Zürich.
4 - Christie’s Geneva, May 16, 2011, lot 71, by tradition given as a gift by Empress Eugénie of France, wife of Napoleon III, to Field Marshal Lintorn Simmons GCB GCMG.
5 - The present watch, consigned by an exceptional collector.
The present ‘Moses’ automaton watch can firmly be attributed to the Neuchâtel maker Charles Ducommun when compared to two of the other known examples; the watch sold at Christie’s in 2011 was signed ‘Ch. Ducommun dit Boudrit’ and bears identical casemaker’s initials ‘FTD’ to the present watch; the specimen in the Sandoz Collection which is illustrated in Chapuis ‘Les Automates’ and in ‘La Montre des origines au XIXe siècle' by Claudia Cardinal, has very similar movement construction and also identical casemaker's initials to both other watches.
Charles Ducommun dit Boudrit or Boudry
Charles Ducommun, also called Boudrit or Boudry, was a master watchmaker from Neuchâtel. He worked in Madrid before settling in Geneva where he became particularly renowned for his complicated watches featuring equation of time, calendars, jump hours, automata and others.