The Art of Horology in Geneva

Geneva, Hotel Des Bergues, Nov 13, 1999

LOT 84

FR (Rochat) and PM (Piguet & Meylan), No. 700,the enamel painting attributable to Jean-Abraham Lissignol, Geneva, circa 1820.Very fine and rare 18K gold and enamel, turquoise set singing bird box with music.

C. Rectangular with rounded corners, engine-turned, borders and corners chased with black champlevé enamelled decoration over a matted ground, the singing bird aperture with turquoise set bezel. Hinged left side panel for the key compartment. The singing bird box cover enamelled with a very finely painted scene, depicting Jupiter and Calista, inspired from an engraving by Angelica Kauffmann (1741-1807), kept in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris. Inner engine-turned cover. Musical movement: pinnedrum musical train with two sets of stacked tuned teeth. Singing bird movement: rectangular plates with turned pillars, fusee with chain, rectangular bellow, the bird with moving wings, tail, beak and turning head, controlled by a stack of 8 cams, gold engraved grill.Signed with the Rochat FR punch mark on the back plate. The music signed with the Piguet & MeylanPM, punch markDim. 77 x 51 x 23 mm.