Antiquorum Auctioneers since 1974

Geneva, Nov 08, 2026

LOT 424

HENRI NEISSER, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, MUSICAL SNUFF BOX FITTED WITH A CONCEALED WATCH AND MUSICAL MOVEMENT, GOLD AND ENAMEL.

CHF 70,000 - 140,000

HKD 670,000 - 1,340,000 / USD 85,000 - 170,000 / EUR 76,000 - 152,000 / JPY 13,430,000 - 26,850,000

Sold: CHF 78,120

An extremely fine and equally rare, gold, enamel and pearls set, manual wind oval, with three compartments, the central section with a hinged lid decorated in enamel with a young couple in a landscape, Cupid with his arrow ducking behind them. Each semi-circular side decorated with floral motifs within a pearl-set border. The right-hand lid opening to reveal two enamel dials, one for the hours and one for the minutes, within pale blue taille d’épargne decoration. The musical movement contained in the left-hand compartment, beneath a pale blue enamel ground engraved and enamelled with an allegory of music. The sides and base decorated in translucent blue enamel over a wavy engine-turned ground, within gold, blue and black enamel borders, the dividers adorned with gold vases on black enamel.

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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 3

Good
Movement: 3*

Good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense
Dial: 3-01

Good

HANDS Original

Brand Henri Neisser, Geneva, Switzerland

Year Circa 1808

Caliber Semi-circular, 30 x 19 mm, going barrel, cylinder escapement, three-arm gilt balance with flat balance spring. Musical movement: semicircular, 29 x 19 mm, pinned barrel movement with a stack of 14 tuned vibrating blades of grasshopper shape, pinion governor in eccentric socket for tempo adjustment

Length 77

Height 15

Width 34

Signature H.N for Henri Neisser, the spring signed 'Bertard fils', dated 1815

Notes

Geneva’s watchmakers and artisans developed during the late 18th and early 19th centuries an exceptional expertise in the creation of luxury objects destined for the Chinese market. Contemporary observers praised the city’s casemakers, jewellers, enamellers, engravers and miniature painters for their ability to combine refined craftsmanship with the tastes of distant markets.

Henri Christian Neisser, one of Geneva’s most talented bijoutiers, settled in Geneva in 1783 and worked for many years in the Saint-Gervais district. He subsequently established his own workshop and became particularly renowned for the quality of his gold and enamel work. His objects were ideally suited to the demanding Far Eastern market, where highly sophisticated musical and automaton pieces were especially prized.

The existence of an almost identical “pair” to the present box, with a mirrored enamel scene and matching decoration, strongly suggests that this musical box was likewise made for export to Asia. The exceptional complexity of its automaton and musical mechanism, together with the quality of its enamel decoration, is characteristic of the finest Geneva objects created for this lucrative market.

The signature “Batard fils” found on the springs of numerous Geneva automata between circa 1788 and 1815 refers to Emmanuel Bastard (1751–1824), a prominent Geneva faiseur de ressorts whose springs were used in a number of highly sophisticated automata.