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Details
An exceptional gold and enamel folding musical fruit knife,
The gold handle chased and engraved with symmetrical designs of champlevé vases, urns, swags of foliage, and oval panels with quivers and arrows in baskets, decorated with lines and highlights of graduating split pearls in borders of plain clipper blue, mottled green, royal blue and black enamels, the sides of plain gold with a band of interupted tri-boule decoration, extending along the back edge of the blade when opened, with further engraved quatrefoil border behind plain knife edge, opposite fusee movement slide operating fine barillet six-tooth musical action with patterned-polished brass plates behind fusee chain providing approximately 16-seconds of music, Swiss, circa 1810 -3 1/8in. (7.95cm) handle length, including the blade 5 11/16in. (14.4cm), the cylinder 3/32in. (2.2mm) thick, the fusee chain in. (0.5mm) thick approximately, (one pearl missing, very small chip to enamel on 'lid' side; two small pearls missing from the 'other' side)
The gold handle chased and engraved with symmetrical designs of champlevé vases, urns, swags of foliage, and oval panels with quivers and arrows in baskets, decorated with lines and highlights of graduating split pearls in borders of plain clipper blue, mottled green, royal blue and black enamels, the sides of plain gold with a band of interupted tri-boule decoration, extending along the back edge of the blade when opened, with further engraved quatrefoil border behind plain knife edge, opposite fusee movement slide operating fine barillet six-tooth musical action with patterned-polished brass plates behind fusee chain providing approximately 16-seconds of music, Swiss, circa 1810 -3 1/8in. (7.95cm) handle length, including the blade 5 11/16in. (14.4cm), the cylinder 3/32in. (2.2mm) thick, the fusee chain in. (0.5mm) thick approximately, (one pearl missing, very small chip to enamel on 'lid' side; two small pearls missing from the 'other' side)
Provenance
Christie's, King Street - Lot 41, Sale 4302, 23 May 1990
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.