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Lot Essay
Accompanied by an original fitted presentation box and key.
The present box and its attractive combination of a beautifully decorated case and highly complex movement featuring a singing bird is the perfect example for a decorative object possibly made for a Chinese dignitary. The quality is typical for such items made in Geneva during the 19th century, much coveted by collectors in Europe and Overseas, most particularly in the Far East.
The movement plate is bearing the hallmark of the celebrated Frères Rochat, acknowledged masters in the manufacture of these complex mechanisms. The case is the most unusual aspect of the present lot, which is French made, by L.B. Baudin of Paris. We can determine this through certain characteristics that were not typical of Swiss case makers at the time. For example, the mounting brackets are not typically Swiss, the box is a little taller than most made at the time, and the activating slide would appear differently and possibly placed higher. This indicates that Baudin produced the case, rather than simply stamping his marks on one that came from Switzerland. It can be suggested then that the movement may have been sold on its own by Frères Rochat, allowing the present singing bird box to have come together by the work of two incredibly heralded master European craftsmen of the mid -19th Century.
The delicately painted enamel scene shows the illustrious art of enamel miniatures originating from Geneva in the 19th century, directly connected to the work of the regions' most celebrated watchmakers, jewellers and goldsmiths. It was used as the ultimate form of decoration for watches, snuffboxes and other objects of vertu. Invented in Geneva around 1760, the technique of enamel under flux consisted of covering the painting by a layer of transparent enamel. This vitrified surface created a shining effect, enhancing the colors' radiance and liveliness. Painting on enamel became one of the greatest arts of the period, the best works often destined for the export to the Orient or to be exhibited at Fairs.
The present box and its attractive combination of a beautifully decorated case and highly complex movement featuring a singing bird is the perfect example for a decorative object possibly made for a Chinese dignitary. The quality is typical for such items made in Geneva during the 19th century, much coveted by collectors in Europe and Overseas, most particularly in the Far East.
The movement plate is bearing the hallmark of the celebrated Frères Rochat, acknowledged masters in the manufacture of these complex mechanisms. The case is the most unusual aspect of the present lot, which is French made, by L.B. Baudin of Paris. We can determine this through certain characteristics that were not typical of Swiss case makers at the time. For example, the mounting brackets are not typically Swiss, the box is a little taller than most made at the time, and the activating slide would appear differently and possibly placed higher. This indicates that Baudin produced the case, rather than simply stamping his marks on one that came from Switzerland. It can be suggested then that the movement may have been sold on its own by Frères Rochat, allowing the present singing bird box to have come together by the work of two incredibly heralded master European craftsmen of the mid -19th Century.
The delicately painted enamel scene shows the illustrious art of enamel miniatures originating from Geneva in the 19th century, directly connected to the work of the regions' most celebrated watchmakers, jewellers and goldsmiths. It was used as the ultimate form of decoration for watches, snuffboxes and other objects of vertu. Invented in Geneva around 1760, the technique of enamel under flux consisted of covering the painting by a layer of transparent enamel. This vitrified surface created a shining effect, enhancing the colors' radiance and liveliness. Painting on enamel became one of the greatest arts of the period, the best works often destined for the export to the Orient or to be exhibited at Fairs.