Lot 169

Swiss, Case No. 640 6053, 53 mm, 95 g, circa 1810
A remarkable gold enamel verge pocket watch with animated scene from the Garden of Eden: "The Temptation"
Case: 18k gold, case maker’s mark "AHD". Dial: enamel, polychrome painted. Movm.: full plate movement, keywind, chain/fusee, three-arm brass balance.
The dial with its intricate enamelling shows a river island with trees and various animals: deer, sheep, a dromedary, a pair of birds and a billy goat. The person who created the scene was inspired by the description of paradise in the bible: the picture reminds us of the fruitful and well-watered Garden of Eden. A separate medallion framed by a serpent shows Adam and Eve under the Tree of Knowledge; it sets the fall of man deliberately apart so as not to disturb the peaceful motif.