A fine gold musical snuff box by Piguet et Meylan,

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SNUFF BOXES AND MINIATURE MOVEMENTS

Details

A fine gold musical snuff box by Piguet et Meylan,
with sur-plateau movement stamped P & M, No. 1010, playing two airs with two sets of twenty teeth, in gold purse-form case of guilloché blue enamel in a deep blue and black champlevé scrollwork border, with reeded sides and engraved lid decorated with enamelled scrolling white/gold Greek-key design -- 2½in. (6.5cm.) wide, the disc 1in. (3cm.) diameter, (some defective enamel and slight damage to one edge)

Literature

Éliane Maingot (1959), Leas Automates, p. 83 for a similar piece.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

Lot Essay

Isaac-Daniel Piguet was born in Le Chenit in the Valley of Joux in 1775. He settled in Geneva in 1811, where he formed a partnership with Philippe-Samuel Meylan (1772 - 1845). The company specialised in miniature musical movements and automata, often extremely thin, concealed in a watches or snuff boxes of ingenious design such as a butterfly or the purse-form case offered here. Serial numbers of similar pieces offered at auction recently have ranged from 953 to 3456.

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