• the box composed of three compartments, hinged lids decorated with flowers and trophies on opaque powder blue enamel, centered by a pearl-set flower head and graduated split pearl border • the automata depicting Cupid teetering on a moving see-saw balanced by a gold butterfly, to the left a lady strums the lyre against a polychrome enamel lake scene, the lid with trophy of love and time covering a pair of white enamel chapter rings, for hours and minutes, and another for seconds, above regulator arc on gold engine-turning • the lid of summer flowers lifting to reveal snuff compartment, the base with a bouquet of polychrome flowers on scalloped opaque blue panel surrounded by translucent blue on a rayed ground all within a border of chased leaves and red enamel flower heads on a turquoise ground, the sides with blue enamel reserves surrounded by champlevé turquoise formal foliage • the music work with two set of stacked blades • two interior lids stamped with box makers' mark IGRC, in a horizontal lozenge for Rémond, Lamy & Mercier & Co., and PC script, a 3 between

 

Prominent American American Family until Present

Very unusual and rare automaton box. Several condition concerns should be noted: The automaton, music and going mechanisms are currently not working and will require restoration. Enamel - Side panels - the midnight blue enamel with old restoration, including enamel loss, the surrounding lighter blue mostly intact however with some patina and almost imperceptible enamel loss, four panels on the right side appear to be restored, but intact. Lids - with the following enamel issues. Floral enamel - with restoration and hairlines. Hour glass enamel - with restoration. Musical trophy - good throughout . There are approximately 8 pearls missing to the lids. Base - enamel good overall. Automaton figures - Cupid with enamel losses as visible in catalogue, slightly loose on the see saw and will need to be secured, the background enamel scene good throughout, only minor areas of enamel restoration, enamel chapter rings for time dials in good order.
"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.

Important Notice regarding importation into the United States of Rolex watches
Sotheby's cannot arrange for the delivery of Rolex watches to the United States because U.S. laws restricts the import of Rolex watches. The buyer or a designated agent may collect the property in the country of sale."

The present lot is nearly identical to a box sold Sotheby & Co., The Palace Collections of Egypt, Koubbeh Palace, Cairo, March 10^th- 17^th, 1954, lot 522, March 1954, p. 90, Pl. 24; and to a second one illustrated in Alfred Chapuis et Edouard Gélis, Le Monde des Automates, vol.I, pp. 48 and 50, fig. 320, which is the same size as the present lot.

Two other much smaller boxes of this shape are known, including one in the collection of the Patek Philippe Museum. Apart from these examples🅰, the trefoil form is not often found at this time.

The quality of the flower painting on the base of this box is quite exceptional. The Geneva enamelers had specialized in flower painting from the 17th century onwards and in particular used flower ornament for boxes and watch cases 🤡intended for the Ottoman market. Unfortunately such pieces are not usually signed so it is not possible to identify the painters. An exception is a rectangular snuff box painted with an urn of lavish roses and other summer flowers set beside a turtledove’s nest in a pastoral landscape, see: Sotheby’s London, 1 June 2006, lot 45 and now in the Khalili collection, cat. 210.

The mark, PC in script, a 3 between, in an oval, has long puzzled scholars. The mark seems to appear only on Geneva gold snuffboxes of this date but not exclusively on those made by Jean-George Rémond and his confrères, so cannot be an additional maker’s or company mark. As it is always found in conjunction with a maker’s mark on the lid and base of a box and not the rim, it cannot be a later applied tax or export mark. The small 3 in the center, however, would suggest that it might be an indication of the gold carats. In 1791 the French Revolutionary government abolished the Ancien Régime’s system of taxing and hallmarking precious metals. By 1797 it was found necessary to introduce some form of regulation with a system of marks indicating the gold title: 1 indicating 22 carats, 2 for 20 carats and 3 for 18 carats. When the French took over Geneva in 1798, the Swiss goldsmiths and watch case makers fought vigorously against any imposition of the French system of hallmarking and were, in fact, successful until the end of 1806 when Napoleon insisted on enforcing the regulations, all be it with some concessions. It is possible, therefore, that the PC mark, although not officially recorded, might be a voluntary indication that the boxes so marked were of the 3rd title of 18 carat gold (the normal Geneva standard). For a further discussion of the gold marking system in Geneva, see: Julia Clarke, ‘Swiss Gold Boxes – Myth or Reality?,' ed. Tessa Murdoch and Heike Zech, Going for Gold, Brighton, 2014, pp. 68-70.

In the case of this box, and also lot 111 𒉰the mark appears in conjunction with the horizontal lozenge mark IGRC, first entered officially in the Geneva registers in accordance with the Napoleonic decree in 1806, but possibly in use before this and certainly also after the end of French rule in 1814.