Important Collectors’ Wristwatches Po...

Geneva, Hotel Des Bergues, Oct 21, 1995

LOT 912

Swiss, circa 1810, attributed to Jean-Frederic Leschot, the enamel painting by Jacques Marc Henry, made for the Oriental Market. Magnificent and particularly fine gold and enamel musical mirror.

CHF 0 - 0

C. The entire body and handle decorated in pale green, blue and white champlevé enamel within a ground of engraved flowers and foliage, the piecrust border to the mirror with polychrome Summer flowers on a puce ground within white borders, the centre with a superb enamel scene of ships approaching a town with opalescent sky behind, the handle with smaller vignettes depicting similar subjects on the handle. Frame of elaborately chased and pierced floral goldwork and surmounted by an exotic enamelled bird with diamond-set eyes and crest, holding within its beak a stylised Arabic character reading "Allah". Original bevelled glass mirror. M. Wound by turning the knob at the base of the handle with release detent in the mirror edge. Pin-drum musical movement with single piece comb. Signed 'Henry peint' on the master scene. In perfect condition, with a 19th Century fitted leather case. Dim. 158 mm. Diam. 290 mm. overall length.


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Notes

A miror of very similar form, and the only other example known to exist was formerly in the Sir David Salomons collection and is now in the Musée d'Horlogerie, Chateau des Monts, Le Locle, as part of the Sandoz Collection. It is illustrated and described in A. Chapuis E. Gélis, Le Monde des Automates, Paris 1928. vol.ii, pp. 126-27, pl. VI. The quality of enamel work on the mirror now offered for sale is of superior standard. Jacques Marc Henry worked in Geneva and died in 1845. Jean-Frederic Leschot worked in Geneva, La Chaux-de-Fond and apparently London. Born in 1746, he worked in