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拍品专文
The present watch is a fine example of one of the extraordinary timepieces made for a wealthy Chinese clientele particularly during the 18th and 19th centuries, often by special order. It features all the ingredients favoured by the Oriental connoisseur, such as the sumptuously decorated gold case and a complicated movement incorporating musical and repeating mechanisms.
Although not signed, the movement can be attributed to the workshop of the renowned watchmakers and goldsmiths Isaac-Daniel Piguet (1775-1841) and Philippe-Samuel Meylan (1772-1845), amongst Switzerland's foremost makers of musical and automaton watches mainly for the Chinese market. Some of their movements were extremely thin, featuring the disc or sur plateau format with fan teeth, such as the present watch, a system believed to have been invented by Meylan. For an illustration of a comparable musical movement by Piguet Meylan see La Montre Chinoise by Alfred Chapuis, p. 219, pl. 180.
The first "Chinese Market" watches were made by Jesuit missionaries during the Ming Dynasty in the late 16th century. The Emperors had an avid interest in horological and astronomical instruments, which allowed the missionaries to enter China.
By the late 18th century, Chinese patrons requested only the finest watches, featuring complicated movements such as repeating, music or automatons. To satisfy their desire for aesthetics, the cases had to be highly enamelled with motifs representing nature or classical scenes, set with pearls and precious stones. Many of these marvels were made for the Imperial Palace in Beijing. Examples of such watches and clocks are illustrated in Timepieces, The Forbidden City Publishing House.
For a quarter repeating musical watch by Piguet & Meylan see lot 114 in this auction.
Although not signed, the movement can be attributed to the workshop of the renowned watchmakers and goldsmiths Isaac-Daniel Piguet (1775-1841) and Philippe-Samuel Meylan (1772-1845), amongst Switzerland's foremost makers of musical and automaton watches mainly for the Chinese market. Some of their movements were extremely thin, featuring the disc or sur plateau format with fan teeth, such as the present watch, a system believed to have been invented by Meylan. For an illustration of a comparable musical movement by Piguet Meylan see La Montre Chinoise by Alfred Chapuis, p. 219, pl. 180.
The first "Chinese Market" watches were made by Jesuit missionaries during the Ming Dynasty in the late 16th century. The Emperors had an avid interest in horological and astronomical instruments, which allowed the missionaries to enter China.
By the late 18th century, Chinese patrons requested only the finest watches, featuring complicated movements such as repeating, music or automatons. To satisfy their desire for aesthetics, the cases had to be highly enamelled with motifs representing nature or classical scenes, set with pearls and precious stones. Many of these marvels were made for the Imperial Palace in Beijing. Examples of such watches and clocks are illustrated in Timepieces, The Forbidden City Publishing House.
For a quarter repeating musical watch by Piguet & Meylan see lot 114 in this auction.