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Lot Essay
This exceptionally fine and large ‘barking dog’ watch is signed by the great Geneva makers Piguet and Meylan. It is a particularly lavishly decorated version, the back is set with a very finely painted on enamel panel and the bezels enriched with split pearls. This combination of a stunningly decorated case and a highly complicated movement is a perfect illustration of the ingenious and precious automata timepieces made for the Chinese Imperial court. A comparable ‘barking dog’ watch signed ‘PM’ and numbered 118, of similar design and high quality to the present watch was sold by Christie’s Paris, 4 November 2015, lot 503 (sold 697,500 Euros).
Made in exceedingly small numbers, the finely chased gold and silver automaton scene is believed to be inspired by Jean-Baptiste Oudry’s engraving ‘Swan attacked by a dog’. Around 21 examples of ‘barking dog’ watches survive to the present day, some are in museum collections and the finest private collections worldwide. The great delight of a ‘barking dog’ watch is that instead of sounding the repeating on gongs or bells, the hours and quarter hours are sounded by the simulated bark of a dog. At the same time, the head of the dog on the front of the watch moves with the repeating mechanism. The sound of the barking dog is ingeniously reproduced by a set of bellows activated by pushing down the pendant. To achieve the sound, the mechanism exerts a sharp pressure on the miniature bellows connected to a whistle vented through an opening in the band of the case. The dial plate of the present watch is signed ‘par I. D. Piguet et P. Meylan à Genève’. Interestingly, two barking dog watches also by Piguet & Meylan, numbers 134 and 140, in the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva are identically signed.
The superb quality of the enamel decoration illustrates the celebrated art of enamel miniatures originating from Geneva in the early 19th century. Although apparently unsigned, the enamel panel of the present watch can however be attributed to Jean-François-Victor Dupont on the basis of another watch with very similar enamel panel signed ‘Dupont’, sold by Antiquorum Geneva, The Sandberg Watch Collection, March 31 and April 1, 2001, lot 418. Another watch made for the Chinese market signed Ilbery, London with a similar enamel scene signed by Dupont can be seen in the Patek Philippe Museum: ‘Le papillon, symbole de la fragilité’, circa 1815, Patek Philippe Museum, Genève (Inv. S-493)
Dupont, Jean-François Victor - Enamel and Porcelain Painter
Jean-François Victor Dupont was born in Geneva on 6 August 1785. He was the son of Jean-Isaac Dupont and Susanne Sionnet. The couple had at least one other child, Jeanne Susanne (born in 1789). On March 18, 1817, Jean-François Victor Dupont married Françoise-Pauline-Philippine Durant (1801-?). The couple had at least five children: Andrienne (1818-?), Charles-André (1819-?), Louise-Catherine (1821-?), François-Gabriel-Marie (1824-1866) and Pierre-Justin (1828-1891 or 1893).
His work can be divided into two distinct periods. The first was directly linked to the work of the fabrique from which he came. A second period during which he detached himself from the craft to become a fully-fledged artist who developed his art through the portrait in miniature painted on enamel.
At the beginning of his career, around 1810-1825, Jean-François Victor Dupont produced enamel paintings in miniature, intended to decorate watches or snuffboxes, mainly made for the Chinese market. Their movements are frequently signed by William Ilbery (active in London between c.1780 and c.1830) or by Piguet & Meylan (associated in Geneva between 1811 and 1828). The motifs are probably inspired by engraving books and represent subjects taken from sacred history, mythology or the literature of his time.
Contrary to the practice in the 18th and early 19th centuries in the field of enamelware for the Genevan fabrique, Dupont frequently signed his work. His style is recognisable by the use of a brightly coloured palette, a dotted brushstroke, and a drawing in which the faces and bodies are massive, even geometric (in particular, straight noses), but exude softness and poetry. He paints his figures more or less on the same plane, which reduces the effects of perspective and focuses the viewer’s eye on the main scene. On the pocket watch plates (Ø ~ 45 mm.), the figures occupy all the space so that the sky or the rendering of nature are only there to give a background colour to the scene but do not suggest any perspective. On the larger snuffbox plates (H.~50 mm. / W.~75 mm.), he gives the impression of placing his figures in front of a scenery and not in a landscape. During this period, Dupont occasionally practised the genre of the ‘small portrait’ and the ‘cabinet miniature’, using watercolour and gouache on ivory; the touch is smoother and reveals his real talent as a draughtsman. Around 1820, there was a slowdown in the production of enamel painting. Fortunately, the introduction of painting on porcelain in Geneva offered some artists an additional occupation. Dupont gradually oriented his work towards this technique. He continued to reproduce the old masters and painted famous figures or his Geneva contemporaries after other artists. On this medium, as on ivory, his subjects acquire a striking realism. A few original compositions are also known, including the portrait of his children and his self-portrait; here a freer and more expressive talent is expressed. In this second period of his career, however, it is logical that his works are signed. His signature is usually painted in black, in cursive script. From 1822 to 1843, Jean-François Victor Dupont presented his works at the Genevan exhibitions that followed the Restoration. He also exhibited in Paris at the 1812 and 1855 Salons and at the Lyon Salon in 1844. Although Dupont remained a ‘craftsman’ from the fabrique, he was one of the best miniaturists of his time. It should be noted that he only practised in his home town where he trained many pupils. He seems to have stopped his activities around 1845-1850. Jean-François Victor Dupont died, aged 77, in Geneva, on January 11, 1863.
Piguet & Meylan (active between 1811 and 1828)
Isaac-Daniel Piguet (1775-1841) and Philippe-Samuel Meylan (1772-1845), both from the village of Le Chenit in the Vallée de Joux (Canton of Vaud), arrived in Geneva to work in the horological industry when they were young. Piguet arrived in 1800 while Meylan, after a first stay in 1792-1794, returned in 1811. They formed a partnership in 1811 which lasted until 1828. Their company specialised in the creation of prestigious objects, watches with repeater (quarter or minute), with or without automata and music. They also produced so-called skeleton watches, as well as mechanical animals.
The firm, as well as the residence of the two families, was established in Geneva at 45 rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau, in the district of Saint-Gervais, on the right bank of the Rhône.
After the dissolution of their association, Isaac-Daniel Piguet and Philippe-Samuel Meylan continued to work, each on his own, with their sons. This partnership, which lasted 17 years, has left us some of the most beautiful masterpieces in the history of Geneva horology. Often created in pairs, according to the preferences of the Chinese market, most of the time these objects are sumptuously decorated, sometimes with miniature paintings on enamel on gold executed by the best painters of the Genevan fabrique.
A large number of their creations are now kept in the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva.
We are grateful to Eric Tortella for his assistance and study in researching this watch.
Literature :
Similar examples of 'barking dog' watches are illustrated in: ‘Watches’, Cecil Clutton and George Daniels, London, 1979, figs. 245a-d.
A further example is illustrated in: ‘Les Chefs-d’œuvre de la Collection Sandoz’, Musée d’horlogerie du Locle, Château des Monts, 2009, p. 64.
Two other barking dog watches by Piguet & Meylan, numbered 134 and 140 and with cases by Frères Oltramere are illustrated in: ‘The Emergence of the Portable Watch’, P. Friess, Patek Philippe Museum, Vol. IV, pp. 56-57.
‘Procès-verbal de la cinquième Séance annuelle de la Société pour l’avancement des Arts, le jeudi 19 juin 1823, à quatre heures après midi, dans le salon des Séances du Conseil représentatif et souverain, à l’Hôtel-de-Ville’, No V, Geneva, 1823, p. 124.
‘Explication des ouvrages de peinture, dessin, architecture et gravure des artistes vivans exposés dans la galerie du Musée Rath. Le Ier aout 1826.’, Geneva, 1826, p. 7.
Clouzot, Henri, ‘Dictionnaire des miniaturistes sur émail’, Paris, 1924, p. 71, suppl. p. 229.
Clouzot, Henri, ‘La miniature sur émail en France’, Paris, [c.1925], pp. 178-179.
Schidlof, Leo R., ‘La miniature en Europe aux 16e, 17e, 18e et 19e siècles’, Graz, 1964, vol. I, pp. 234-235, vol. III, pl. 191, fig. 356.
Tellier, Arnaud, ‘Jean-François Victor Dupont: un grand portraitiste’, in ‘Naissance du commerce horloger entre Suisse et Chine’, in La Tribune des arts, Geneva, No. 323, July-August 2004, pp. 36-37.
Patrizzi, Osvaldo, ‘Jean François Victor Dupont: An Exceptional Painter’, in Vox, The Antiquorum Magazine, Geneva, Spring 2007, pp. 10-15.
Tellier, Arnaud, ‘Jean-François Victor Dupont’, in Artistes à Genève, de 1400 à nos jours, Geneva, L’Apage and Notari Editions, 2010, pp. 184-185.
Made in exceedingly small numbers, the finely chased gold and silver automaton scene is believed to be inspired by Jean-Baptiste Oudry’s engraving ‘Swan attacked by a dog’. Around 21 examples of ‘barking dog’ watches survive to the present day, some are in museum collections and the finest private collections worldwide. The great delight of a ‘barking dog’ watch is that instead of sounding the repeating on gongs or bells, the hours and quarter hours are sounded by the simulated bark of a dog. At the same time, the head of the dog on the front of the watch moves with the repeating mechanism. The sound of the barking dog is ingeniously reproduced by a set of bellows activated by pushing down the pendant. To achieve the sound, the mechanism exerts a sharp pressure on the miniature bellows connected to a whistle vented through an opening in the band of the case. The dial plate of the present watch is signed ‘par I. D. Piguet et P. Meylan à Genève’. Interestingly, two barking dog watches also by Piguet & Meylan, numbers 134 and 140, in the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva are identically signed.
The superb quality of the enamel decoration illustrates the celebrated art of enamel miniatures originating from Geneva in the early 19th century. Although apparently unsigned, the enamel panel of the present watch can however be attributed to Jean-François-Victor Dupont on the basis of another watch with very similar enamel panel signed ‘Dupont’, sold by Antiquorum Geneva, The Sandberg Watch Collection, March 31 and April 1, 2001, lot 418. Another watch made for the Chinese market signed Ilbery, London with a similar enamel scene signed by Dupont can be seen in the Patek Philippe Museum: ‘Le papillon, symbole de la fragilité’, circa 1815, Patek Philippe Museum, Genève (Inv. S-493)
Dupont, Jean-François Victor - Enamel and Porcelain Painter
Jean-François Victor Dupont was born in Geneva on 6 August 1785. He was the son of Jean-Isaac Dupont and Susanne Sionnet. The couple had at least one other child, Jeanne Susanne (born in 1789). On March 18, 1817, Jean-François Victor Dupont married Françoise-Pauline-Philippine Durant (1801-?). The couple had at least five children: Andrienne (1818-?), Charles-André (1819-?), Louise-Catherine (1821-?), François-Gabriel-Marie (1824-1866) and Pierre-Justin (1828-1891 or 1893).
His work can be divided into two distinct periods. The first was directly linked to the work of the fabrique from which he came. A second period during which he detached himself from the craft to become a fully-fledged artist who developed his art through the portrait in miniature painted on enamel.
At the beginning of his career, around 1810-1825, Jean-François Victor Dupont produced enamel paintings in miniature, intended to decorate watches or snuffboxes, mainly made for the Chinese market. Their movements are frequently signed by William Ilbery (active in London between c.1780 and c.1830) or by Piguet & Meylan (associated in Geneva between 1811 and 1828). The motifs are probably inspired by engraving books and represent subjects taken from sacred history, mythology or the literature of his time.
Contrary to the practice in the 18th and early 19th centuries in the field of enamelware for the Genevan fabrique, Dupont frequently signed his work. His style is recognisable by the use of a brightly coloured palette, a dotted brushstroke, and a drawing in which the faces and bodies are massive, even geometric (in particular, straight noses), but exude softness and poetry. He paints his figures more or less on the same plane, which reduces the effects of perspective and focuses the viewer’s eye on the main scene. On the pocket watch plates (Ø ~ 45 mm.), the figures occupy all the space so that the sky or the rendering of nature are only there to give a background colour to the scene but do not suggest any perspective. On the larger snuffbox plates (H.~50 mm. / W.~75 mm.), he gives the impression of placing his figures in front of a scenery and not in a landscape. During this period, Dupont occasionally practised the genre of the ‘small portrait’ and the ‘cabinet miniature’, using watercolour and gouache on ivory; the touch is smoother and reveals his real talent as a draughtsman. Around 1820, there was a slowdown in the production of enamel painting. Fortunately, the introduction of painting on porcelain in Geneva offered some artists an additional occupation. Dupont gradually oriented his work towards this technique. He continued to reproduce the old masters and painted famous figures or his Geneva contemporaries after other artists. On this medium, as on ivory, his subjects acquire a striking realism. A few original compositions are also known, including the portrait of his children and his self-portrait; here a freer and more expressive talent is expressed. In this second period of his career, however, it is logical that his works are signed. His signature is usually painted in black, in cursive script. From 1822 to 1843, Jean-François Victor Dupont presented his works at the Genevan exhibitions that followed the Restoration. He also exhibited in Paris at the 1812 and 1855 Salons and at the Lyon Salon in 1844. Although Dupont remained a ‘craftsman’ from the fabrique, he was one of the best miniaturists of his time. It should be noted that he only practised in his home town where he trained many pupils. He seems to have stopped his activities around 1845-1850. Jean-François Victor Dupont died, aged 77, in Geneva, on January 11, 1863.
Piguet & Meylan (active between 1811 and 1828)
Isaac-Daniel Piguet (1775-1841) and Philippe-Samuel Meylan (1772-1845), both from the village of Le Chenit in the Vallée de Joux (Canton of Vaud), arrived in Geneva to work in the horological industry when they were young. Piguet arrived in 1800 while Meylan, after a first stay in 1792-1794, returned in 1811. They formed a partnership in 1811 which lasted until 1828. Their company specialised in the creation of prestigious objects, watches with repeater (quarter or minute), with or without automata and music. They also produced so-called skeleton watches, as well as mechanical animals.
The firm, as well as the residence of the two families, was established in Geneva at 45 rue Jean-Jacques Rousseau, in the district of Saint-Gervais, on the right bank of the Rhône.
After the dissolution of their association, Isaac-Daniel Piguet and Philippe-Samuel Meylan continued to work, each on his own, with their sons. This partnership, which lasted 17 years, has left us some of the most beautiful masterpieces in the history of Geneva horology. Often created in pairs, according to the preferences of the Chinese market, most of the time these objects are sumptuously decorated, sometimes with miniature paintings on enamel on gold executed by the best painters of the Genevan fabrique.
A large number of their creations are now kept in the Patek Philippe Museum in Geneva.
We are grateful to Eric Tortella for his assistance and study in researching this watch.
Literature :
Similar examples of 'barking dog' watches are illustrated in: ‘Watches’, Cecil Clutton and George Daniels, London, 1979, figs. 245a-d.
A further example is illustrated in: ‘Les Chefs-d’œuvre de la Collection Sandoz’, Musée d’horlogerie du Locle, Château des Monts, 2009, p. 64.
Two other barking dog watches by Piguet & Meylan, numbered 134 and 140 and with cases by Frères Oltramere are illustrated in: ‘The Emergence of the Portable Watch’, P. Friess, Patek Philippe Museum, Vol. IV, pp. 56-57.
‘Procès-verbal de la cinquième Séance annuelle de la Société pour l’avancement des Arts, le jeudi 19 juin 1823, à quatre heures après midi, dans le salon des Séances du Conseil représentatif et souverain, à l’Hôtel-de-Ville’, No V, Geneva, 1823, p. 124.
‘Explication des ouvrages de peinture, dessin, architecture et gravure des artistes vivans exposés dans la galerie du Musée Rath. Le Ier aout 1826.’, Geneva, 1826, p. 7.
Clouzot, Henri, ‘Dictionnaire des miniaturistes sur émail’, Paris, 1924, p. 71, suppl. p. 229.
Clouzot, Henri, ‘La miniature sur émail en France’, Paris, [c.1925], pp. 178-179.
Schidlof, Leo R., ‘La miniature en Europe aux 16e, 17e, 18e et 19e siècles’, Graz, 1964, vol. I, pp. 234-235, vol. III, pl. 191, fig. 356.
Tellier, Arnaud, ‘Jean-François Victor Dupont: un grand portraitiste’, in ‘Naissance du commerce horloger entre Suisse et Chine’, in La Tribune des arts, Geneva, No. 323, July-August 2004, pp. 36-37.
Patrizzi, Osvaldo, ‘Jean François Victor Dupont: An Exceptional Painter’, in Vox, The Antiquorum Magazine, Geneva, Spring 2007, pp. 10-15.
Tellier, Arnaud, ‘Jean-François Victor Dupont’, in Artistes à Genève, de 1400 à nos jours, Geneva, L’Apage and Notari Editions, 2010, pp. 184-185.