.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
A superb and exquisite ‘montre de fantasie’, the present pistol is identical to the example once in the collection of King Farouk of Egypt and is perhaps one and the same piece. A treasured part of one of the world’s great watch collections for the past almost 20 years, the present pistol affords collectors the exceptional opportunity once again to acquire an example of these fascinating and precious creations.
Flintlock pistol form perfume sprinkler watches are amongst the greatest rarities in the realm of automated precious objects, only around 12 examples are known to exist today, gracing some of the most distinguished collections in the world. Even to the casual observer, pistol perfume sprinkler watches are also perhaps the most memorable and intriguing of the products made in Geneva workshops in the opening years of the 19th century. With the spectacular combination of sumptuously decorated gold cases and exceedingly intricate movements, the perfume sprinkler pistol watches are the perfect example of the coveted decorative objects made for discerning dignitaries and royalty in China and Europe.
It is fascinating that such exquisite gold pistols were actually directly copied from real weapons of the period. Like duelling pistols, they were originally made in pairs. When the pistol is ‘fired’, a gold and enamel flower bud emerges from the end of the barrel and opens to release a spray of perfume. The watch is fitted within the butt and concealed by a hinged cover. The names of two Geneva firms are associated with the manufacture of the present type of pistol, signed examples exist by both Moulinié, Bautte & Cie. and J.B. Garrand. The present example, although apparently unsigned, can be attributed to Moulinié, Bautte & Cie. or J.B. Garrand on this basis. Other examples of pistol perfume sprinker watches are in the Patek Philippe Museum, Geneva, the Sandoz Collection; the Wilsdorf Collection, Geneva; the Sir David Salomons Collection, Mayer Museum, Jerusalem; the Musée International d’Horlogerie, La Chaux-de-Fonds; and a Turkish market example is in the Topkapi Museum, Istanbul.
We are grateful to Eric Tortella for his assistance and study in researching this watch.
Provenance:
Possibly: King Farouk Ist (1920-1965), King of Egypt (1936-1952), Cairo.
Possibly: Sotheby’s, Cairo, Koubbeh Palace, auction, March 13, 1954 (fourth day’s sale), ‘The Palace Collections of Egypt, The Highly Important Collection of Works of Art in Precious Materials, Property from the Collection of King Farouk’, lot 591 (pl. 32), for the amount of 800.- Egyptian pounds.
The pair to the present pistol is very likely to be the example from the so-called ‘Emperor’s Collection’, originally probably bought from S. J. Phillips Ltd., London, or Bulgari, Rome.
Sold: Antiquorum, Geneva, May 14, 2017, ‘The Emperor’s Collection’, lot 227, for the amount of CHF 413 000.- (including buyer’s premium).
Moulinié, Bautte & Cie.
The celebrated firm of Moulinié, Bautte & Cie were famed for their fantasy musical and mechanical objects made in gold, enamel, jewels and pearls known at the time as “toys”. The firm supplied their costly treasures to clients in China, India, Spain, Italy, France, England and Austria, in addition to the store in Geneva, they had branches in Paris and Florence.
On August 1st, 1793, Jean-François Bautte had joined forces with Jacques-Dauphin Moulinié, the case-maker established in Geneva since 1791, thus forming ‘Moulinié & Bautte, monteurs de boîtes’. On October 1st, 1804, Jean-Gabriel Moynier (1772-1840), a watchmaker from Geneva, joined them and the workshop was renamed ‘Moulinié, Bautte & Cie, fabrique d’horlogerie’. The company only traded under the name of Moulinié, Bautte & Cie for four years from 1st October 1804, therefore the present pistol can be dated quite accurately to within the four-year period 1804-1808. In 1808, the association became Moulinié, Bautte & Moynier, fabrique d’horlogerie. This was a very successful period for Jean-François Bautte, who became the most important watch dealer in Geneva. Around 1810, this factory produced watches and luxury jewellery and had more than 60 workers in the workshop and 30 at home.
Around 1824, following the departure of Jacques-Dauphin Moulinié, the manufacture remained in the hands of Jean-François Bautte and Jean-Gabriel Moynier under the new name of Bautte & Moynier, at 61, rue du Rhône. In 1828, the company presented at the Geneva Exhibition the twelve demonstration models of escapements made by Antoine Tavan (1749-1836) for the Melly brothers (active between 1790 and 1829) around 1800-1805. In 1828, a Moulinié Aîné & Cie, fabricants d’horlogerie, located in rue de la Cité, was present at the Geneva Exhibition; this company was still in business in 1851.
Jean Baptiste Garrand
Born in 1768, he came to Geneva around 1797. He was witness to the wedding of the enamel painter Jean François Soiron. Garrand entered a maker’s mark JB over G in a lozenge in 1807 and again in 1815 with premises in Rue Cendrier. Garrand père et fils is recorded at the same address in 1828. He died in February 1838. An example of a pistol form perfume sprinkler watch signed ‘Garrand’ is in the collection of the Fondation Edouard & Maurice Sandoz, Pully, Switzerland. A gold and enamel book-form vinaigrette by J. B. Garrand was sold: Bonham’s London, 21 November 2012, lot 2.
Selected Bibliography
Chapuis, Alfred, ‘Montres et émaux de Genève’ – Collection H. Wilsdorf, Genève, Editions Rolex, 1944, pp. 190-912, pl. 37.
Tellier, Arnaud, & Didier, Mélanie, ‘Le Miroir de la séduction, Prestigieuses paires de montres Chinoises’ – The Mirror of Seduction, Prestigious pairs of “Chinese” Watches, Geneva, Patek Philippe Museum, 2010, pp. 72-73 and 74-75.
Friess, Peter, Patek Philippe Museum, ‘The Emergence of the Portable Watch’, Geneva, Patek Philippe Museum Editions, 2015, vol. III, pp. 544-545.
White, Ian, ‘The Majesty of the Chinese Market Watch, The Life and Collection of Gustave Loup of Tientsin and Geneva, Watch Dealer and Collector (1876-1961)’, London, The Antiquarian Horological Society, 2019, pp. 267-269.
Patrizzi, Osvaldo, & Sturm, Fabienne Xavière, ‘Montres de fantaisie – Watches of fantasy, 1790-1850’, Geneva, Editions de la Tribune and of the Galerie d’horlogerie ancienne, 1979, pl. 26 and front cover (that of the Patek Philippe Museum, Geneva).
‘Jean-François Bautte’, in Mémorial des séances du Conseil représentatif, 10th year, t. 1, No. 1-35, from May 1st to December 31, 1837, Geneva, Librairie A. Cherbuliez, 1837-1838, pp. 365-366 (session of December 4).
Rambal, Joseph, ‘L’Horlogerie à Genève’, in Nos Anciens et leurs œuvres, recueil genevois d’art, Geneva, 1905.
Jaquet, Eugène, & Chapuis, Alfred (with coll. of Berner, G. Albert), ‘Histoire et technique de la montre suisse de ses origines à nos jours’, Basel and Olten, Editions Urs Graf, 1945.
Jaquet, Eugène, ‘Le cabinotier Jean-François Bautte, rénovateur de la “Fabrique” genevoise’, in Revue internationale d’horlogerie, No. 51, 1950, pp. 7, 49-59.
Jaquet, Eugène, ‘Le Musée d’Horlogerie de Genève, Union des Fabricants d’Horlogerie de Genève et Vaud’, Geneva, 1952.
Gibertini, Dante, ‘Liste des Horlogers Genevois, du XVIe au milieu du XIXe siècle’, in Geneva, new series, t. XII, 1964, Geneva, 1964.
Brau-Troppau, Edmund Wilhelm, ‚Die Samllung von Formuhren der Frau Dr. Gustav Bloch in Wien‘, in Kunst und Kunsthandwerk, 1917 (that of the Therese Bloch-Bauer Collection).
Mosoriak, Roy, & Heckert, Gleen P., ‘The Curious History of Music Boxes’, Chicago, Lightner Publishing Co., 1943, pl. II
Chapuis, Alfred (introduction by), ‘Catalogue of A Loan Exhibition of Antique Automatons for the Benefit of the Pestalozzi Foundation of America’, New York, A La Vieille Russie, 1950, No. 70
Schneeberger, Pierre-Francis, ‘Collection Hans Wilsdorf’,Geneva, Montres Rolex, 1970, p. 51.
Daniels, George, & Markarian, Ohannes, ‘Watches & Clocks in the Sir David Salomons Collection, including scientific instruments, boxes and automata’, Tel Aviv – London, Sotheby Publications, Jerusalem, L. A. Mayer Memorial Institute for Islamic Art, 1980, 1980, p. 154
Sturm-Bednarczyk, Elisabeth, ‘Phantasie-Uhren, Kostbarkeiten des Kunsthandwerks aus der Sammlung Therese Bloch-Bauer – Fantasy Watches’, Vienna, Edition Christian Brandstätter, 2002, pp. 56-57 and front cover.
Flintlock pistol form perfume sprinkler watches are amongst the greatest rarities in the realm of automated precious objects, only around 12 examples are known to exist today, gracing some of the most distinguished collections in the world. Even to the casual observer, pistol perfume sprinkler watches are also perhaps the most memorable and intriguing of the products made in Geneva workshops in the opening years of the 19th century. With the spectacular combination of sumptuously decorated gold cases and exceedingly intricate movements, the perfume sprinkler pistol watches are the perfect example of the coveted decorative objects made for discerning dignitaries and royalty in China and Europe.
It is fascinating that such exquisite gold pistols were actually directly copied from real weapons of the period. Like duelling pistols, they were originally made in pairs. When the pistol is ‘fired’, a gold and enamel flower bud emerges from the end of the barrel and opens to release a spray of perfume. The watch is fitted within the butt and concealed by a hinged cover. The names of two Geneva firms are associated with the manufacture of the present type of pistol, signed examples exist by both Moulinié, Bautte & Cie. and J.B. Garrand. The present example, although apparently unsigned, can be attributed to Moulinié, Bautte & Cie. or J.B. Garrand on this basis. Other examples of pistol perfume sprinker watches are in the Patek Philippe Museum, Geneva, the Sandoz Collection; the Wilsdorf Collection, Geneva; the Sir David Salomons Collection, Mayer Museum, Jerusalem; the Musée International d’Horlogerie, La Chaux-de-Fonds; and a Turkish market example is in the Topkapi Museum, Istanbul.
We are grateful to Eric Tortella for his assistance and study in researching this watch.
Provenance:
Possibly: King Farouk Ist (1920-1965), King of Egypt (1936-1952), Cairo.
Possibly: Sotheby’s, Cairo, Koubbeh Palace, auction, March 13, 1954 (fourth day’s sale), ‘The Palace Collections of Egypt, The Highly Important Collection of Works of Art in Precious Materials, Property from the Collection of King Farouk’, lot 591 (pl. 32), for the amount of 800.- Egyptian pounds.
The pair to the present pistol is very likely to be the example from the so-called ‘Emperor’s Collection’, originally probably bought from S. J. Phillips Ltd., London, or Bulgari, Rome.
Sold: Antiquorum, Geneva, May 14, 2017, ‘The Emperor’s Collection’, lot 227, for the amount of CHF 413 000.- (including buyer’s premium).
Moulinié, Bautte & Cie.
The celebrated firm of Moulinié, Bautte & Cie were famed for their fantasy musical and mechanical objects made in gold, enamel, jewels and pearls known at the time as “toys”. The firm supplied their costly treasures to clients in China, India, Spain, Italy, France, England and Austria, in addition to the store in Geneva, they had branches in Paris and Florence.
On August 1st, 1793, Jean-François Bautte had joined forces with Jacques-Dauphin Moulinié, the case-maker established in Geneva since 1791, thus forming ‘Moulinié & Bautte, monteurs de boîtes’. On October 1st, 1804, Jean-Gabriel Moynier (1772-1840), a watchmaker from Geneva, joined them and the workshop was renamed ‘Moulinié, Bautte & Cie, fabrique d’horlogerie’. The company only traded under the name of Moulinié, Bautte & Cie for four years from 1st October 1804, therefore the present pistol can be dated quite accurately to within the four-year period 1804-1808. In 1808, the association became Moulinié, Bautte & Moynier, fabrique d’horlogerie. This was a very successful period for Jean-François Bautte, who became the most important watch dealer in Geneva. Around 1810, this factory produced watches and luxury jewellery and had more than 60 workers in the workshop and 30 at home.
Around 1824, following the departure of Jacques-Dauphin Moulinié, the manufacture remained in the hands of Jean-François Bautte and Jean-Gabriel Moynier under the new name of Bautte & Moynier, at 61, rue du Rhône. In 1828, the company presented at the Geneva Exhibition the twelve demonstration models of escapements made by Antoine Tavan (1749-1836) for the Melly brothers (active between 1790 and 1829) around 1800-1805. In 1828, a Moulinié Aîné & Cie, fabricants d’horlogerie, located in rue de la Cité, was present at the Geneva Exhibition; this company was still in business in 1851.
Jean Baptiste Garrand
Born in 1768, he came to Geneva around 1797. He was witness to the wedding of the enamel painter Jean François Soiron. Garrand entered a maker’s mark JB over G in a lozenge in 1807 and again in 1815 with premises in Rue Cendrier. Garrand père et fils is recorded at the same address in 1828. He died in February 1838. An example of a pistol form perfume sprinkler watch signed ‘Garrand’ is in the collection of the Fondation Edouard & Maurice Sandoz, Pully, Switzerland. A gold and enamel book-form vinaigrette by J. B. Garrand was sold: Bonham’s London, 21 November 2012, lot 2.
Selected Bibliography
Chapuis, Alfred, ‘Montres et émaux de Genève’ – Collection H. Wilsdorf, Genève, Editions Rolex, 1944, pp. 190-912, pl. 37.
Tellier, Arnaud, & Didier, Mélanie, ‘Le Miroir de la séduction, Prestigieuses paires de montres Chinoises’ – The Mirror of Seduction, Prestigious pairs of “Chinese” Watches, Geneva, Patek Philippe Museum, 2010, pp. 72-73 and 74-75.
Friess, Peter, Patek Philippe Museum, ‘The Emergence of the Portable Watch’, Geneva, Patek Philippe Museum Editions, 2015, vol. III, pp. 544-545.
White, Ian, ‘The Majesty of the Chinese Market Watch, The Life and Collection of Gustave Loup of Tientsin and Geneva, Watch Dealer and Collector (1876-1961)’, London, The Antiquarian Horological Society, 2019, pp. 267-269.
Patrizzi, Osvaldo, & Sturm, Fabienne Xavière, ‘Montres de fantaisie – Watches of fantasy, 1790-1850’, Geneva, Editions de la Tribune and of the Galerie d’horlogerie ancienne, 1979, pl. 26 and front cover (that of the Patek Philippe Museum, Geneva).
‘Jean-François Bautte’, in Mémorial des séances du Conseil représentatif, 10th year, t. 1, No. 1-35, from May 1st to December 31, 1837, Geneva, Librairie A. Cherbuliez, 1837-1838, pp. 365-366 (session of December 4).
Rambal, Joseph, ‘L’Horlogerie à Genève’, in Nos Anciens et leurs œuvres, recueil genevois d’art, Geneva, 1905.
Jaquet, Eugène, & Chapuis, Alfred (with coll. of Berner, G. Albert), ‘Histoire et technique de la montre suisse de ses origines à nos jours’, Basel and Olten, Editions Urs Graf, 1945.
Jaquet, Eugène, ‘Le cabinotier Jean-François Bautte, rénovateur de la “Fabrique” genevoise’, in Revue internationale d’horlogerie, No. 51, 1950, pp. 7, 49-59.
Jaquet, Eugène, ‘Le Musée d’Horlogerie de Genève, Union des Fabricants d’Horlogerie de Genève et Vaud’, Geneva, 1952.
Gibertini, Dante, ‘Liste des Horlogers Genevois, du XVIe au milieu du XIXe siècle’, in Geneva, new series, t. XII, 1964, Geneva, 1964.
Brau-Troppau, Edmund Wilhelm, ‚Die Samllung von Formuhren der Frau Dr. Gustav Bloch in Wien‘, in Kunst und Kunsthandwerk, 1917 (that of the Therese Bloch-Bauer Collection).
Mosoriak, Roy, & Heckert, Gleen P., ‘The Curious History of Music Boxes’, Chicago, Lightner Publishing Co., 1943, pl. II
Chapuis, Alfred (introduction by), ‘Catalogue of A Loan Exhibition of Antique Automatons for the Benefit of the Pestalozzi Foundation of America’, New York, A La Vieille Russie, 1950, No. 70
Schneeberger, Pierre-Francis, ‘Collection Hans Wilsdorf’,Geneva, Montres Rolex, 1970, p. 51.
Daniels, George, & Markarian, Ohannes, ‘Watches & Clocks in the Sir David Salomons Collection, including scientific instruments, boxes and automata’, Tel Aviv – London, Sotheby Publications, Jerusalem, L. A. Mayer Memorial Institute for Islamic Art, 1980, 1980, p. 154
Sturm-Bednarczyk, Elisabeth, ‘Phantasie-Uhren, Kostbarkeiten des Kunsthandwerks aus der Sammlung Therese Bloch-Bauer – Fantasy Watches’, Vienna, Edition Christian Brandstätter, 2002, pp. 56-57 and front cover.