The Sandberg Watch Collection

Hotel Richemond, Geneva, Mar 31, 2001

LOT 145

The LyreAttributable to Piguet & Capt, circa 1810.Amusing and rare 18 ct. gold and enamel, pearl-set lyre-shaped musical automaton.

C. One side decorated with a vase of gold and white flowers against a translucent blue background over a flinqué ground, the winding aperture in one of the petals, the horns decorated with a floral and foliate pattern against matching blue enamel, suspended from a double gold chain.The automaton figures in multicoloured gold over polychrome enamel with a rural landscape and ruins in the background; a seated lady plays a hurdy-gurdy, a boy behind her taps his foot, a man dances to the music.M. 25 mm o, circular, the automaton and musical movement driven by the pinned barrel playing on five tuned teeth, six-wheel train, the last pinion in eccentric adjustable bushing to regulate the tempo of the music, the dancer driven by pins mounted on the flat part of the barrel, the boy's leg by the same, the hurdy-gurdy motion from an extra pinion driven from the barrel but not connected to the train.Dim: width 33 mm, length 64 mm. Published in the Sandberg book, page 440-441.