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Lot Essay
This magnificent musical automaton watch is the mirror image pair to the watch once owned by King Farouk of Egypt and sold in the auction of ‘The Palace Collections of Egypt’, Sotheby’s, 10th-20th March 1954, lot 513. It is now in the collection of the Beyer Clock and Watch Museum, Zürich. Of exceptional quality and preserved in excellent, original overall condition, it is amongst the most impressive Chinese market watches to be offered in public in recent years. This artistic and mechanical marvel and would make a worthy addition to even the most exalted collection.
This horological masterpiece is signed Piguet & Meylan, partners from 1811 to 1828, celebrated makers of repeating and musical movements of extraordinary quality. Alfred Chapuis states in his book ‘La Montre Chinoise’, p. 65: "The most beautiful watches exported from Switzerland to China at the beginning of the 19th century are those bearing the signature Piguet or Piguet et Meylan, of Geneva".
The enamel on the present watch can be attributed to Jean Abraham Lissignol (1749-1819), also known as Père Lissignol (Lissignol father) to distinguish him from his son Abraham who also worked as an enameller in Geneva. Jean-Abraham was trained by the celebrated Jean-Marc Roux and specialized in allegorical subjects. He was famous for his portrait miniatures and miniatures for the decoration of watch cases and gold boxes, often made in collaboration with Piguet & Meylan and destined for the export to China. It has been suggested that as Lissignol had died in 1819, another enamel artist – Jacques-Marc Henry (1782-1845) was perhaps the artist who was responsible for some of the fine portraits of the ‘Four Seasons’ series. The painted enamel subjects for enamels were usually copied by the artist from paintings and prints of the period. The engraving of ‘Winter’ upon which the present enamel is based is illustrated along with ‘Spring’ from the same series, in ‘La Montre Chinoise’ Alfred Chapuis, p. 72f.
The Four Seasons by Piguet & Meylan
The group of watches known as the ‘Four Seasons’, made at the beginning of the 19th century in Geneva by Piguet & Meylan, is one of the most beautiful ever made for the Chinese market. With their simple and classical beauty, these watches have a beautiful effect, especially as they have been created in pairs, with their decorations matching each other, ... responding to them like an image reflected in a mirror. The exhibition organised by Arnaud Tellier at the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva in 2010 – The Mirror of Seduction, Prestigious pairs of “Chinese” Watches – made it possible to physically see this thanks to several pairs exceptionally brought together for the occasion. The permanent display of the Patek Philippe Museum also allows to see some of these remarkable horological artworks and other watches, some in pairs, some alone.
Certainly the literature published over the last century – notably ‘La Montre Chinoise’ (1919) by Alfred Chapuis (1880-1958), a historian of Swiss horology – has opened our imagination to such a pleasure, but seeing them together is something else. The object contemplated in three dimensions is far more beautiful than a simple image, however beautiful it may be.
From a technical point of view, the production of the association (1811-1828) of Isaac-Daniel Piguet (1775-1841) and Philippe-Samuel Meylan (1772-1845) is well understood today, although the numbering of their movements is not exactly clear. The lack of archival material – old papers – is sadly lacking today. The casing of their watches and objects, with or without automata and music, was often entrusted to the Oltramare brothers, Genevan case-makers (associated between 1810-1811 and 1826).
From an aesthetic point of view, things are more complicated. While some of their works are known to have enamelled sous fondant (under flux) decorations signed by enamel painters such as Jean-Abraham Lissignol (1749-1819), Jean-Louis Richter (1766-1841) and Jean-François Victor Dupont (1785-1863), many others are not, including the ‘Four Seasons’.
It is known, however, that independently of these three artists, people such as David-Etienne Roux (1758-1832), known as ‘Roux-Constantin’, Richter’s master, Aimé-Julien Troll (1781-1852), Richter’s associate, Jacques-Marc Henry (1782-1845), Lissignol’s pupil and associate, and the Adam family, Louis-Alexandre (c.1765-1813) and his sons, Henri-Albert (1766-1820) and Isaac (1768-1841), of whom few signed works have survived. Several dozen other artists also worked in this technique, including the Hébert, with Nicolas-Didier (1754-1820) and his son Pierre (1783-1867), and the Hess, with Jean-François-Adam (c.1740-1814), F.-Léonard (1772-1875), François-Jacob (1773-1846), Moyse-Ludwig (1778-1851), Pierre-Marc (1800-1841) and Jules-Marc (1802-1841). The genealogy of the Hess family remains to be established, so it is not known who is who in this or these families.
The style and quality of execution of the Four Seasons suggest the work of Lissignol, but he disappeared in 1819, in the middle of the production period of these watches (1815-1825); on the other hand, writings of the time tell us that J.-M. Henry was a specialist in portraits and copies of portraits in enamel. The ‘Four Seasons’ can therefore be attributed to the workshop of these two painters.
Today, the dream of every art lover would be to see the ‘Four Seasons’ from the same series – four pairs of watches matching each other – reunited... that is eight watches! ... but were they ever produced?
We are grateful to Eric Tortella for his assistance and study in researching this watch.
Frères Oltramare (active between 1810-1811 and 1826)
The sumptuous case of the present watch was done in the workshop of the Frères Oltramare, renowned ‘monteurs de boites en or’ or makers of gold cases.
Originally from Genoa, the Oltramare family settled in Geneva in the 17th century. Certain branches of the family were involved in the watchmaking trade from the second half of the 18th century. Pierre Oltramare (1753-1827) signed an apprenticeship contract in Geneva in 1768 with the master watchmaker Jean Pattey de Passiery. Later, as a master watchmaker, he married (September 24, 1780) Judith Borel (c.1757-1819). The couple had seven children, including Louis-David-Benjamin (1781-1851) and Jean-Hugues (1786-1856). Both were trained to become “monteurs de boîtes en or” (makers of gold cases for watches). The Oltramare brothers appear to have worked together informally in the early 19th century. Between 1810 and 1811 they registered their trademark Frères Oltramare, in the form of a horizontal lozenge incorporating the letters ‘F O’. When Geneva was liberated from the French occupation, they re-registered the same mark on November 4, 1815. Their workshop was located at 82, rue de Coutance, in the Saint-Gervais district. Their association was dissolved on March 31, 1826.
The Oltramare brothers worked actively with Piguet & Meylan. Many of the watch cases they make are destined for export markets, notably China.
Piguet & Meylan (active between 1811 and 1828)
Isaac-Daniel Piguet (1775-1841) and Philippe-Samuel Meylan (1772-1845), both from the village of Le Chenit in the Vallée de Joux (Canton of Vaud), arrived in Geneva to work in the horological industry when they were young. Piguet arrived in 1800 while Meylan, after a first stay in 1792-1794, returned in 1811. They formed a partnership in 1811 which lasted until 1828. Their company specialised in the creation of prestigious objects, watches with repeater (quarter or minute), with or without automata and music. They also produced so-called skeleton watches, as well as mechanical animals.
The firm, as well as the residence of the two families, was established in Geneva at 45 rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau, in the district of Saint-Gervais, on the right bank of the Rhône (at the time, this street was called rue Chevelu; the street being renamed around 1822 after the philosopher).
After the dissolution of their association, Isaac-Daniel Piguet and Philippe-Samuel Meylan continued to work, each on his own, with their sons. This partnership, which lasted 17 years, has left us some of the most beautiful masterpieces in the history of Geneva horology. Often created in pairs, according to the preferences of the Chinese market, most of the time these objects are sumptuously decorated, sometimes with miniature paintings on enamel on gold executed by the best painters of the Genevan fabrique.
A large number of their creations are now kept in the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva.
Literature :
The mirror-image pair to the present watch (now in the Beyer Museum, Zürich) is illustrated and described in: ‘The Majesty of the Chinese-Market Watch, The Life and Collection of Gustave Loup of Tientsin and Geneva Watch Dealer and Collector (1876-1961)’, Ian White, The Antiquarian Horological Society, 2019, pp. 178-182.
The mirror-image pair to the present watch and the original engraving of ‘Winter’ along with ‘Spring’ from the same series is illustrated in: ‘La Montre Chinoise’, Alfred Chapuis, 1919, p. 72f.
A watch depicting ‘Spring’ by Piguet & Meylan is illustrated in: ‘Masterpieces of Watchmaking’, Luigi Pippa, 1996, p. 198.
Bibliography
Chapuis Alfred (with coll. of Loup, Gustave), ‘La montre chinoise. Relations de l’Horlogerie suisse avec la Chine’, Neuchâtel, Editions Attinger Frères, 1919.
Chapuis, Alfred, & Gélis, Edouard, ‘Le monde des automates: étude historique et technique’, Paris and Neuchâtel, 1928, vol. II, chap. XVII « Montres et Tabatières » (pp. 31-73).
Chapuis, Alfred, ‘Montres et émaux de Genève, Collection H. Wilsdorf’, Geneva, Editions Rolex, 1944.
Jaquet, Eugène, & Chapuis, Alfred (with coll. of Berner, G. Albert), ‘Histoire et technique de montre suisse de ses origines à nos jours’, Basel and Olten, Editions Urs Graf, 1945.
Chapuis, Alfred, & Droz, Edmond, ‘Les automates, figures artificielles d'hommes et d'animaux: histoire et technique’, Neuchâtel, Editions du Griffon, 1949.
Chapuis, Alfred, & Droz, Edmond (Reid, Alec, trad.), ‘Automata: a historical and technological study’, Neuchâtel, Editions du Griffon, and New York, Central book, 1958.
Schneeberger, Pierre-Francis, ‘Collection Hans Wilsdorf’, Geneva, Montres Rolex, 1970.
‘Collection de montres et automates Maurice et Edouard M. Sandoz’, Le Locle, Edition du Château des Monts, 1976.
Pin, Bernard, ‘Montres & Automates, La collection Maurice Sandoz’, Pully, Fondation Edouard & Maurice Sandoz, 2010.
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 Editions, 2010.
Friess, Peter, ‘Patek Philippe Museum, The Emergence of the Portable Watch’, Geneva, Patek Philippe Museum Editions, 2015.
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.
This horological masterpiece is signed Piguet & Meylan, partners from 1811 to 1828, celebrated makers of repeating and musical movements of extraordinary quality. Alfred Chapuis states in his book ‘La Montre Chinoise’, p. 65: "The most beautiful watches exported from Switzerland to China at the beginning of the 19th century are those bearing the signature Piguet or Piguet et Meylan, of Geneva".
The enamel on the present watch can be attributed to Jean Abraham Lissignol (1749-1819), also known as Père Lissignol (Lissignol father) to distinguish him from his son Abraham who also worked as an enameller in Geneva. Jean-Abraham was trained by the celebrated Jean-Marc Roux and specialized in allegorical subjects. He was famous for his portrait miniatures and miniatures for the decoration of watch cases and gold boxes, often made in collaboration with Piguet & Meylan and destined for the export to China. It has been suggested that as Lissignol had died in 1819, another enamel artist – Jacques-Marc Henry (1782-1845) was perhaps the artist who was responsible for some of the fine portraits of the ‘Four Seasons’ series. The painted enamel subjects for enamels were usually copied by the artist from paintings and prints of the period. The engraving of ‘Winter’ upon which the present enamel is based is illustrated along with ‘Spring’ from the same series, in ‘La Montre Chinoise’ Alfred Chapuis, p. 72f.
The Four Seasons by Piguet & Meylan
The group of watches known as the ‘Four Seasons’, made at the beginning of the 19th century in Geneva by Piguet & Meylan, is one of the most beautiful ever made for the Chinese market. With their simple and classical beauty, these watches have a beautiful effect, especially as they have been created in pairs, with their decorations matching each other, ... responding to them like an image reflected in a mirror. The exhibition organised by Arnaud Tellier at the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva in 2010 – The Mirror of Seduction, Prestigious pairs of “Chinese” Watches – made it possible to physically see this thanks to several pairs exceptionally brought together for the occasion. The permanent display of the Patek Philippe Museum also allows to see some of these remarkable horological artworks and other watches, some in pairs, some alone.
Certainly the literature published over the last century – notably ‘La Montre Chinoise’ (1919) by Alfred Chapuis (1880-1958), a historian of Swiss horology – has opened our imagination to such a pleasure, but seeing them together is something else. The object contemplated in three dimensions is far more beautiful than a simple image, however beautiful it may be.
From a technical point of view, the production of the association (1811-1828) of Isaac-Daniel Piguet (1775-1841) and Philippe-Samuel Meylan (1772-1845) is well understood today, although the numbering of their movements is not exactly clear. The lack of archival material – old papers – is sadly lacking today. The casing of their watches and objects, with or without automata and music, was often entrusted to the Oltramare brothers, Genevan case-makers (associated between 1810-1811 and 1826).
From an aesthetic point of view, things are more complicated. While some of their works are known to have enamelled sous fondant (under flux) decorations signed by enamel painters such as Jean-Abraham Lissignol (1749-1819), Jean-Louis Richter (1766-1841) and Jean-François Victor Dupont (1785-1863), many others are not, including the ‘Four Seasons’.
It is known, however, that independently of these three artists, people such as David-Etienne Roux (1758-1832), known as ‘Roux-Constantin’, Richter’s master, Aimé-Julien Troll (1781-1852), Richter’s associate, Jacques-Marc Henry (1782-1845), Lissignol’s pupil and associate, and the Adam family, Louis-Alexandre (c.1765-1813) and his sons, Henri-Albert (1766-1820) and Isaac (1768-1841), of whom few signed works have survived. Several dozen other artists also worked in this technique, including the Hébert, with Nicolas-Didier (1754-1820) and his son Pierre (1783-1867), and the Hess, with Jean-François-Adam (c.1740-1814), F.-Léonard (1772-1875), François-Jacob (1773-1846), Moyse-Ludwig (1778-1851), Pierre-Marc (1800-1841) and Jules-Marc (1802-1841). The genealogy of the Hess family remains to be established, so it is not known who is who in this or these families.
The style and quality of execution of the Four Seasons suggest the work of Lissignol, but he disappeared in 1819, in the middle of the production period of these watches (1815-1825); on the other hand, writings of the time tell us that J.-M. Henry was a specialist in portraits and copies of portraits in enamel. The ‘Four Seasons’ can therefore be attributed to the workshop of these two painters.
Today, the dream of every art lover would be to see the ‘Four Seasons’ from the same series – four pairs of watches matching each other – reunited... that is eight watches! ... but were they ever produced?
We are grateful to Eric Tortella for his assistance and study in researching this watch.
Frères Oltramare (active between 1810-1811 and 1826)
The sumptuous case of the present watch was done in the workshop of the Frères Oltramare, renowned ‘monteurs de boites en or’ or makers of gold cases.
Originally from Genoa, the Oltramare family settled in Geneva in the 17th century. Certain branches of the family were involved in the watchmaking trade from the second half of the 18th century. Pierre Oltramare (1753-1827) signed an apprenticeship contract in Geneva in 1768 with the master watchmaker Jean Pattey de Passiery. Later, as a master watchmaker, he married (September 24, 1780) Judith Borel (c.1757-1819). The couple had seven children, including Louis-David-Benjamin (1781-1851) and Jean-Hugues (1786-1856). Both were trained to become “monteurs de boîtes en or” (makers of gold cases for watches). The Oltramare brothers appear to have worked together informally in the early 19th century. Between 1810 and 1811 they registered their trademark Frères Oltramare, in the form of a horizontal lozenge incorporating the letters ‘F O’. When Geneva was liberated from the French occupation, they re-registered the same mark on November 4, 1815. Their workshop was located at 82, rue de Coutance, in the Saint-Gervais district. Their association was dissolved on March 31, 1826.
The Oltramare brothers worked actively with Piguet & Meylan. Many of the watch cases they make are destined for export markets, notably China.
Piguet & Meylan (active between 1811 and 1828)
Isaac-Daniel Piguet (1775-1841) and Philippe-Samuel Meylan (1772-1845), both from the village of Le Chenit in the Vallée de Joux (Canton of Vaud), arrived in Geneva to work in the horological industry when they were young. Piguet arrived in 1800 while Meylan, after a first stay in 1792-1794, returned in 1811. They formed a partnership in 1811 which lasted until 1828. Their company specialised in the creation of prestigious objects, watches with repeater (quarter or minute), with or without automata and music. They also produced so-called skeleton watches, as well as mechanical animals.
The firm, as well as the residence of the two families, was established in Geneva at 45 rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau, in the district of Saint-Gervais, on the right bank of the Rhône (at the time, this street was called rue Chevelu; the street being renamed around 1822 after the philosopher).
After the dissolution of their association, Isaac-Daniel Piguet and Philippe-Samuel Meylan continued to work, each on his own, with their sons. This partnership, which lasted 17 years, has left us some of the most beautiful masterpieces in the history of Geneva horology. Often created in pairs, according to the preferences of the Chinese market, most of the time these objects are sumptuously decorated, sometimes with miniature paintings on enamel on gold executed by the best painters of the Genevan fabrique.
A large number of their creations are now kept in the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva.
Literature :
The mirror-image pair to the present watch (now in the Beyer Museum, Zürich) is illustrated and described in: ‘The Majesty of the Chinese-Market Watch, The Life and Collection of Gustave Loup of Tientsin and Geneva Watch Dealer and Collector (1876-1961)’, Ian White, The Antiquarian Horological Society, 2019, pp. 178-182.
The mirror-image pair to the present watch and the original engraving of ‘Winter’ along with ‘Spring’ from the same series is illustrated in: ‘La Montre Chinoise’, Alfred Chapuis, 1919, p. 72f.
A watch depicting ‘Spring’ by Piguet & Meylan is illustrated in: ‘Masterpieces of Watchmaking’, Luigi Pippa, 1996, p. 198.
Bibliography
Chapuis Alfred (with coll. of Loup, Gustave), ‘La montre chinoise. Relations de l’Horlogerie suisse avec la Chine’, Neuchâtel, Editions Attinger Frères, 1919.
Chapuis, Alfred, & Gélis, Edouard, ‘Le monde des automates: étude historique et technique’, Paris and Neuchâtel, 1928, vol. II, chap. XVII « Montres et Tabatières » (pp. 31-73).
Chapuis, Alfred, ‘Montres et émaux de Genève, Collection H. Wilsdorf’, Geneva, Editions Rolex, 1944.
Jaquet, Eugène, & Chapuis, Alfred (with coll. of Berner, G. Albert), ‘Histoire et technique de montre suisse de ses origines à nos jours’, Basel and Olten, Editions Urs Graf, 1945.
Chapuis, Alfred, & Droz, Edmond, ‘Les automates, figures artificielles d'hommes et d'animaux: histoire et technique’, Neuchâtel, Editions du Griffon, 1949.
Chapuis, Alfred, & Droz, Edmond (Reid, Alec, trad.), ‘Automata: a historical and technological study’, Neuchâtel, Editions du Griffon, and New York, Central book, 1958.
Schneeberger, Pierre-Francis, ‘Collection Hans Wilsdorf’, Geneva, Montres Rolex, 1970.
‘Collection de montres et automates Maurice et Edouard M. Sandoz’, Le Locle, Edition du Château des Monts, 1976.
Pin, Bernard, ‘Montres & Automates, La collection Maurice Sandoz’, Pully, Fondation Edouard & Maurice Sandoz, 2010.
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 Editions, 2010.
Friess, Peter, ‘Patek Philippe Museum, The Emergence of the Portable Watch’, Geneva, Patek Philippe Museum Editions, 2015.
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.