Manufacturer: Swiss Year: Circa 1800 Material: Three colour gold and enamel Dimensions: 57 mm. diameter Literature: For a similar watch, however without music, please see Swiss Watches and snuff-boxes, 17th and 20th Centuries, Artistic enamels from the Hermitage Collection, page 47 For a repeating pocket watch with salacious automata, please see Watches & Automata, The Maurice Sandoz Collection by Bernard Pin, pages 186 to 189.
Catalogue Essay
In the late 18th and early 19th century, the Swiss made a considerable number of musical and automata watches. Some scenes were of an innocence nature and others reveal at a release of a secret shutter, a couple embracing as with the present watch. By activating a lever in the band, the music and automata is activated and the shutter opens revealing the salacious scene. This lot is a four automata watch where the waterfall is pouring from a statue at the top of the column, the lady is waving her arm, the dog is bowing its head and the couple embracing. Surrounded by finely painted polychrome enamel scene, the present example is a very rare and fine erotic musical automata.