This is a superbly designed and executed watch made for the Chinese market. A few similar pieces exist, notably in the Sandoz Collection, the former Loup Collection, or in the Lord Sandberg Collection (see Antiquorum, March 31, 2001). However, they are all either larger or in "Empire" style cases. The "bassine" form, just coming into use at the time, allowed the artist to elegantly continue the pattern from the back of the case to the front, creating a very pleasing effect. Piguet et Meylan begn using the "bassine" form for their watches in the late 1810's, which corresponds to serial numbers in the high 5000's. Although they continued using the "Empire" form, they preferred the "bassine for their special pieces.The watch has been preserved in remarkably good condition, which is not always the case with watches for the Chinese market, that were sometimes kept in very unfavorable conditions.The scene depicted in the present watch, "Venus Binding the Wings of Cupid", was painted in 1780 just as Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun was about to give birth. She recalled in her memoirs: "The day my daughter was born (Feb. 1780), I was still in the studio, trying to work on my "Venus"? in the intervals between labor pains". The finished work, a pastel, was exhibited in the Salon of 1783, and became part of the collection of the Comte de Vaudreuil (1740-1817). The latter was the lover of the queen's fvorite, Yolande de Polignac, and as such, was an influential member of Marie-Antoinette's inner circle.Elisabeth-Louise Vigée le Brun (1755-1842)Born on 16 April 1755 in Paris, she was the daughter of the portrait painter Louis Vigée (1715-67), with whom she began her studies. By 1770 she was a practicing painter of portraits, taking as her inspiration the work of Greuze, Rubens and van Dyck. She married the art dealer J.-B.-P. Le Brun (1748-1813) in 1776. They had one daughter, Julie. The couple held gatherings in their Paris home which were attended by the fashionable society of the time. Her beauty and talent led to Vigée-Le Brun's beng quickly accepted by the select society of the Ancien Régime, despite her middle-class upbringing. In 1778 she became court painter to Queen Marie-Antoinette. In all, Vigée-Lebrun executed more than 20 portraits of Marie-Antoinette and her entourage, including some of the most famous images of the Queen. Her entry into the Royal Academy in 1783 was no doubt partially owing to her friendship with the Queen, but after the Revolution broke out, her close ties to the monarchy forced her to leave Fance. Vigee-Lebrun spent twelve years in exile, traveling through Italy, and visiting Vienna, Prague and Dresden. Later, she traveled to St. Petersburg and London, then in 1805 returned to Paris, where she would remain until her death in 1842. She was made an honorary member of the Societe pour l'Advancement des Beaux-arts in Geneva. In the 1830's she published her memoirs which give insight to her travels and her artistic career.Henri-Albert Adam (1766-1820)Born in Geneva, he first worked there as a painter on enamel and porcelain, then traveled to Russia where, after 1807, he became associated with the Imperial Porcelain Manufacture. He is said to have previously worked for Jaquet Droz and Leschot. Adam made a specialty of the decoration of watch cases and tabatières. He died in Saint Petersbourg.Isaac Adam (1768-1841) The son of Louis-Alexandre, he was an enamel painter and became associated with his father. He made a specialty of the decoration of watch cases and tabatières, and signed "Adam" or "A".Dictionnaire des horlogers genevois, by Osvaldo Patrizzi, Antiquorum Editions, 1998.For a biography of Piguet & Meylan, see next lot.