• circular procession of a family with a mother raising and lowering her baby, a child brandishing a branch, a hunter with moving head raising and lowering a bottle, a child with a whip pulling a whirly-gig assisted by another child at his rear, the figures attached at the base to a rotating ring, each figure with articulated levers to their backs which engage stationary teeth to the base of the central enamel scene as the figures’ ring rotates • the background enameled with a vase-form fountain and cascade both demonstrated by twisted glass rods, a romantic castle in the distance all framed within a draped and balustraded proscenium • the top mounted with white enamel time dial, the cover decorated with swirled enamel foliage and diamond-set finial, the handles and borders set with pearls, two-tier two train movement with verge, fusee and chain attributed to Piguet & Capt., Geneva

Edouard Gélis, Paris
Farouk I, King of Egypt until 1952
Sotheby's & Co., The Palace Collections of Egypt, Koubbeh Palace, Cairo, March 1954, lot 526
Prominent American Family until present

Alfred Chapuis et Edouard Gélis, Le Monde des Automates, vol. II, pp. 38, 67 and 69, color pl. II and fig. 35, 1928
Sotheby & Co.,The Palace Collections of Egypt, Koubbeh Palace, Cairo,  March 10, 1954, lot 526, p. 91, pl. 26

One chip to red enamel swag, losses to blue enamel background on cover and same on underneath body of finial restored or incomplete, restoration to enamel on pedestal foot  
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. All dimensions in catalogue descriptions are approximate. Condition reports may not specify mechanical replacements or imperfections to the movement, case, dial, pendulum, separate base(s) or dome. Watches in water-resistant cases have been opened to examine movements but no warranties are made that the watches are currently water-resistant. Please note that we do not guarantee the authenticity of any individual component parts, such as wheels, hands, crowns, crystals, screws, bracelets and leather bands, since subsequent repairs and restoration work may have resulted in the replacement of original parts. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue. In particular, please note it is the purchaser's responsibility to comply with any applicable import and export matters, particularly in relation to lots incorporating materials from endangered species.NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

**Please be advised that bands made of materials derived from endangered or otherwise protected species (i.e. alligator and crocodile) are not sold with the watches and are for display purposes only. We reserve the right to remove these bands prior to shipping."

This lot was described by Alfred Chapuis and Edouard Gélis in, Le Monde des Automates 1928 as a "remarkable bibelot" formerly in the collection of Edouard Gélis of Paris, and later sold to King Farouk of Egypt.

Four Vase-form automatons are known.  One nearly identical to the current lot is illustrated in Peter Friess, Patek Philippe Museum,The Emergence of the Portable Watch, p. 89, 2015. Two additional examples comprise one illustrated and described in Le Monde des Automates, p. 67-68, fig. 351,ꦗ from the B🎉ernard Franck collection, Paris, and another sold at auction in 1958.