There are only three other similar carriage clocks by Breguet known to date.The carriage clock, as we know it today, was designed and invented by Breguet about 1795. In 1798 he sold his first to Napoleon Bonaparte (No. 178, sold by Antiquorum on April 14, 1991, lot No. 10). The next client to purchase a carriage clock was the Duke de Praslin, who in 1802 bought one with the serial No. 1992. An examination of Breguet's early carriage clocks demonstrates the degree to which he was ahead of his time. The carriage clocks of the late 19th century and even the 20th century difer very little from those of Breguet. Indeed, although the basic movements are strikingly similar, the more recent clocks rarely match those of Breguet in finish and complication. Breguet made approximately 90 carriage clocks, many of them in mahogany cases. Those in gilt bronze cases are scarce and rarely come onto the market.Countess Catherine Pavlovna Skavronsky (1783 -1857), Princess BagrationWas the daughter of Count Paul Martinovitch Skavronsky and his wife, nee Catherine Vassilievna Engelhardt. Her first husband was Prince Pierre Ivanovitch Bagration (1765- 1812) a General of the Infantry who died after being wounded at the Battle of Borodino. Several years later, in 1830, Princesse Bagration remarried in Paris. Her second husband was John Hobart Craddock (1799-1873), second Baron Howden of Howden and Grimston.In 1801, Princess Bagration accompanied her husband to Dresden, where she met Prince Metternich. The beauty of this young woman of 18 was legendary: "a youthful face, white as alabaster, gently tinged with pink, lovely features, a charming, eloquent, and sensitive expression? in all of her person an Oriental nobility mixed with Andalusian grace". Metternich and Princess Bagration became lovers; a daughter, Marie Clementine (1802-1829) was the fruit of this liaison. This child, who bore the namef Bagration, later married the Swedish nobleman Count Otto von Blome (1795-1884).Princess Bagration played an important social role during the Congress of Vienna of 1814-1815. One of her receptions, catered by the celebrated chef Antonin Carême, was attended by Czar Alexander I, who at the time vied with Metternich for her affections. The daring gowns she wore at the time won her the nickname of "the beautiful naked angel".We thank Mr. Jacques Ferrand for his assistance with this biography.