The symbolism of the case is quite unusual and seems to focus on fire; the horseman dressed as a Roman commander jumping into the fire, the band, in typical Renaissance fashion (see for instance Spitzenbuch und rnamentzeichnungen, Germany, 16th century) pierced with torches. A torch symbolises life itself, life which was made possible by the knight's sacrifice. The dial cover, between the hour openings, has Minotaur figures, which, again, probably refers symbolically to the knight's bravery.Among the few known surviving watches of this type, four are similar to the present lot: Louvre ('Les montres et horloges de table du museé de Louvre' by Catherine Cardinal, Vol. 2, No. 21). Kunstgewerbemuseum (inv. Nr. K 4704) One sold by Herve Chayette, Paris, on July 4, 1989 (lot 156) One from the Mallet collection illustrated, among others, in Baillie's Watches.Only the watch from the Louvre is marked; it is stamped 'HK'. Its movement, although modified, shows a number of characteristics very much like the present lot. The band is pierced and engraved in a manner that is also strikingly similar to a watch from the Soltykoff collection (Plate XIV in the Soltykoff catalogue), which strongly suggests that the two watches came from the same casemaker's workshop. By the mid-sixteenth century, pattern books for engravers, including patterns for watches, alredy existed, and different casemaking artists therefore had access to the same pattern sources. This is made evident by the existence of at least four surviving tambour watches with an allegorical scene representing Astronomy.