Important Watches, Collectors’ Wristw...

Hotel Noga Hilton, Nov 14, 2004

LOT 460

?Evening? Attributed to A. Magnin, musical movement by Aubert, No. 4448, enamel by Richter, Geneva, circa 1820. Spectacular and very fine 18K varicolored gold and painted on enamel, pearl-set large musical box playing two tunes in original morocco fitted box.

CHF 120,000 - 160,000

EUR 80,000 - 100,000 / USD 100,000 - 130,000

Sold: CHF 149,250

C. Three-body, rectangular with canted corners, top painted on enamel with Alpine scene; shepherdess with her sheep in the foreground and a young man playing the flute, after the painting ?Evening? by William Hamilton R.A., half pearl-set frame, engine-turned side panels with applied varicolored leaf wreath at the top, canted corners with applied varicolored floral design, the base richly decorated with applied varicolored gold flowers and foliage, two gold bolts in the front, the right one for switching tunes, the left for activation. M. Rectangular with canted corners, 96 x 58 mm, pinned cylinder with a single comb of 61 vibrating blades, two-arm fly regulator.Box punched ?AM?, the registered mark of A. Magnin, in a lozenge, movement signed on the base plate.Dim. 102 x 62 x 27 mm.


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 3

Good
Movement: 3*

Good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense
Dial: -

Notes

Ferdinand Aubert A very important watchmaker, specialized in musical and automaton watches destined for the Chinese market. The cases of these watches were in enamel and pearls; the ebauches came from the Vallée de Joux. He worked with the brothers David and Louis Le Coultre from approximately 1810 to 1835. ?Dictionnaire des Horlogers Genevois? by Osvaldo Patrizzi, Antiquorum Editions, Geneva, 1998. Jean-Louis Richter 1766-1841 Learned his art under David-Etienne-Roux and Philippe-Samuel-Théodore Roux. He did not often sign his work, but it is clearly recognizable from the style and quality of the painting. Richter applied his art principally to watch cases and snuff boxes largely destined for the Chinese, Turkish, British and Italian markets. In 1828 he was in partnership with Aimé-Julien Troll 1781-1852. Richter often found inspiration for his work from paintings or engravings by artists in vogue : Van der Myn 1684-1741, Giovanni Battista Cipriani 1727-1785, John Francis Rigaud 1742-1820, John Hoffner 1748-1810 and Francesco Bartolozzi 1727-1815, or from scenes such as the ?Abduction of Helen? by Guido Reni 1575-1642.