Geneva, Nov 05, 2022
LOT 132
AIME ROCHAT
Case incorporating a singing-bird and a sewing and embroidery necessaire, made for the British market; probably in silver gilded, velvet, hummingbird feathers, steel, rock crystal, pearls and topaz
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Ladies Work Box with Singing-Bird
CHF 70,000 - 120,000
EUR 72,000 - 124,000 / USD 70,000 - 120,000 / HKD 550,000 - 940,000
Probably in silver gilded and velvet, horizontal rectangular-shaped case incorporating a key-winding singing-bird and a sewing and embroidery necessaire some of them in 14K gold.
Cabinet with probably in silver gilded cage-work incorporating garnet coloured velvet panels with gilded metal sunflowers and interlacing motifs; oval cover of the bird engraved in taille-douce (fine cut) with an intertwined pattern that can be interpreted as the cypher “M B A”, its edge set with half pearls; next to this cover is the winding square for the bird mechanism and a pull tab for switching on its operation.
Singing-bird mechanism, rectangular (~ 85 x 45 mm.), brass, fusee and chain, bellows and eight cams; the revolving bird with moving wings, beak and tail, controlled by two other cams mounted beneath the barrel wheel; the winding up of the mechanism is done with an additional gear (this one is built in an unusual way in order to allow it to be done from the top of the mechanism and not from the bottom by acting directly on the shaft of the fusee).
| Grading System | |
|---|---|
Grade: AAA |
Excellent |
Case: 2 |
Very good |
Movement: 2* |
Very good Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense |
Brand Aimé Rochat, Geneva
Model made for the British market
Year circa 1835
Material gilded metal, velvet, hummingbird feathers, steel, rock crystal, pearls and topaz
Dimensions 140 x 245 x 195 mm. (approx.)
Weight 3.3 kg. (approx.)
Accessories brass winding-key
Notes
The sewing and embroidery necessaire includes 13 implements in gilded metal, chiselled with floral motifs, some set with half pearls:
· a thimble
· a large and a small penknife, each with two steel blades (signed Halstaff and Hannaford)
· a double perfume bottle in rock crystal (or cut glass), with a screw-on cap on one side and a snap-on cap on the other (signed Halstaff and Hannaford)
· a large and a small pair of scissors, with matching handles, one for sewing, the other for embroider
· a thread spool holder
· a needle case
· a mechanical pencil with a garnet at its tip (or coloured glass; signed S. Mordan & Co.)
· two ribbon needles
· an awl
· a puck-shaped needle-holder with an interlacing pattern that can be interpreted as the cypher “M B A”
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Sewing and embroidery necessaires incorporating a singing bird are extremely rare. They are the work of the workshops of the Rochat brothers, then of their successors, the Bruguiers, all of whom were brilliant Genevan mechanicians specialising in the construction of singing birds. A few examples have been listed to date:
· Unsigned, circa 1815 (movement “FR / 135”), scallop-shell-shaped, made of gold, gilded metal, mother-of-pearl, turquoises and enamel; given by Hon. John Walpole (1787-1864) – when Chargé d’Affaires at Valparaiso, Chile – to Amelia, wife of James Macleay (1811-1892), his Secretary, on the latter’s departure for a post in South Africa.
Provenance
Victoria & Albert Museum, London (on loan, 1968-2004)
Antiquorum, Geneva, auction, November 13, 2005, lot 249, sold for the amount of CHF 149 250.- (Estimate: CHF 130 000.- / 160 000.-).
Localisation
Unknown.
· Unsigned, circa 1815, made of ebony and gilded metal; given by Elizabeth Alexeievna (Louise of Baden; 1779-1826), Empress consort of Russia (1801-1825), wife of Alexander I (1777-1825), Emperor of Russia (1801-1825), to a fellow countryman and then given to Mary of Teck (1867-1953), Queen of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India (1910-1936) as the wife of George V (1865-1936), King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India (1910-1936).
Localisation
British Royal Collection. Goldman Collection.
Bibliography
Bailly, Christian, & Bailly-Kerman, Sharon, Oiseaux de Bonheur, Tabatières et Automates – Flights of Fancy, Mechanical Singing Birds, Geneva, Antiquorum Editions, 2001, p. 220.
· Signed Palais Royal à Paris, circa 1820, made of gold and mother-of-pearl.
Provenance
Sotheby’s, London, auction, July 6, 2016, lot 43 (Estimate: GB£ 80 000.- / 120 000.-).
Localisation
Unknown.
· Moulinié, Bautte & Moynier, Geneva, circa 1820, made of gold and enamel; made for Caroline of Brunswick (1768-1821), Queen consort of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Queen of Hanover (1820-1821), wife of George IV (1762-1830), King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover (1820-1830).
Provenance
Sotheby’s, Geneva, auction, May 15, 1990, lot 60.
Localisation
British Rail Pension Fund Collection.
· Signed Palais Royal à Paris, circa 1825, made of gold and mother-of-pearl; belonging to Princess Maria Clotilde of Savoy (1843-1911).
Localisation
Collection Hans Wilsdorf, Geneva.
Bibliography
Collection Wilsdorf, Rolex Editions, cat. 1970, No. 73.
Bailly, Christian, & Bailly-Kerman, Sharon, Oiseaux de Bonheur, Tabatières et Automates – Flights of Fancy, Mechanical Singing Birds, Geneva, Antiquorum Editions, 2001, p. 220.
· Unsigned, circa 1825 (movement “FR / 418”), made of gilded metal and mother-of-pearl; accompanied by a mahogany and brass travel-case with the Cochrane family coat-of-arms and motto “Virtute et Labore”; object probably linked with Thomas Cochrane (1775-1860), 10th Earl of Dundonald, nicknamed by Napoleon “le Loup des Mers” (the Sea Wolf).
Localisation
Patek Philippe Museum, Geneva (Inv. S-132).
Bibliography
Bailly, Christian, & Bailly-Kerman, Sharon, Oiseaux de Bonheur, Tabatières et Automates – Flights of Fancy, Mechanical Singing Birds, Geneva, Antiquorum Editions, 2001, p. 217.
Friess, Peter, Patek Philippe Museum, The Emergence of the Portable Watch, Geneva, 2015, vol. IV, pp. 144-145.
It is clear that these necessaires were considered too beautiful and special for everyday use. Known examples, such as the present lot, have been preserved with all their accessories intact. This restraint is all the more remarkable given that a lady of quality during the 19th century devoted much of her time to ornamental as well as practical needlework.
By its style, our piece seems to be one generation later than those mentioned above; it should also be noted that these early examples are generally made of precious metal. It remains difficult today to attribute this type of production to one or other manufacturer, as the genealogies and associations of the Rochat and Bruguier families remain confused despite all the research carried out by eminent specialists such as Mrs. Sharon Kerman.
It is impossible to know today who ordered this necessaire. As some of the implements are signed by English manufacturers, we can deduce that this object was made for the British market.
Biography
Halstaff and Hannaford
William Halstaff established his business in 1825 at 68 Margaret Street, Cavendish Square, London, before moving it in 1838 to 228 Regent Street, London, under the name “Halstaff & Co., Manufacturer”.
In 1842 William Halstaff joined forces with Thomas Charles Hannaford and the firm became “Halstaff and Hannaford”.
In 1858, they dissolved their partnership but the company retained the name until 1898. In that year the company became “Halstaff & Co.”.
It remained at 228 Regent Street until its final closure in 1908.
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S. Mordan & Co., London
Sampson Mordan (1790 – April 9, 1843) was a British silversmith and a co-inventor of the first patented mechanical pencil. During his youth, he was an apprentice of the inventor and locksmith Joseph Bramah (1748-1814), who patented the first elastic ink reservoir for a fountain pen.
In 1822, Mordan and his co-inventor John Isaac Hawkins (1772-1855) filed the first patent in Great Britain for a metal pencil with an internal mechanism for propelling the graphite “lead” shaft forward during use, as an improvement on the less complex lead-holders that merely clutched the pencil lead to hold it into a single position.
Mordan bought out Hawkins and entered into a business partnership with Gabriel Riddle, an established stationer. From 1823 to 1837, they manufactured and sold silver mechanical pencils with the marking “SMGR”. After the partnership with Riddle dissolved, Mordan continued to sell his silver pencils as “S. Mordan & Co.”, adding many other types of silver and gold items to his product line. Mordan often made his pencils in whimsical “figural” shapes that resembled animals, Egyptian mummies, or other objects; like his other silverware and goldware, these pencils are now highly collectible.
Upon Mordan’s death in 1843, his sons Sampson (junior) and Augustus inherited the firm. “S. Mordan & Co.” continued to make silverware and brass postal scales until 1941, when their factory was destroyed by bombs during the London Blitz.