Lot 91

Henry Capt zugeschr. / attr. to

Celebrating at the winery

A rare Geneva pocket watch with quarter repeater, musical movement and 4 automatons in four colour gold set against the background of an exquisitely painted enamel miniature

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The enamel miniature in the background shows a house overgrown with vine leaves situated among trees. The automaton in the front exquisitely executed in various shades of gold: a party of cheerful people in period dress sits next to a large trellis overgrown with vine leaves. Two gentlemen and a lady sit at a round table drinking wine and moving to the sound of music. When the automaton is released, the music starts playing and the figures begin to move. The lady plays the lute and the young man on the left beats the rhythm of the music on the table with his hand. The man on the right wearing a plumed tricorn hat moves his head back and forth and beats the rhythm of the music on the table with his wine bottle.
Almost certainly the work of the exceptional Geneva watchmaker Henry Capt, this charming and highly complex watch has several unusual features: The musical movement is housed between the plates with a pinned barrel instead of the usual sur plateau type.

Henry Capt (1773-1841) was an independent watchmaker who specialised in watches with additional functions such as musical watches and automatons; Capt was one of the first in Geneva to use barrels and crowns in his automatons. Born in Chenit in the Vallée de Joux in April 1773, he was the son of Jaques Samuel Capt and Susanne Piguet. On January 1, 1796, he married Henriette Piguet. Around 1789 Capt settled in Geneva and worked for several renowned companies such as Jaquet-Droz, Godet, Leschot and his brother-in-law Isaac Daniel Piguet. In 1802 he went into partnership with Daniel Isaac Piguet, which lasted until 1811. When this partnership ended, Capt kept producing his own pieces for some time before entering another partnership with Aubert et Fils in 1830. The firm was taken over by his son, Henry Capt, in 1844. A shop was opened on the Rue du Rhône in 1855 which became quickly famous. During the 1870s, the Henry Capt company advertised that they were the only Geneva watch manufacturer to have a branch retail house in London. Branches were also established in Paris, Nice and New York.