99th Auction
2019/5/11
Lot 391
Piguet Frères / Pierre-Amédée Champod, Case No. 35404, 54 mm, 162 g, circa 1890
An important gold enamel pocket watch with quarter repeater, grande und petite sonnerie, studded with diamonds and two enamel portraits made by the most famous enamel painter of the late 19th century, Pierre-Amédée Champod - made on special order for the Nawab of Junagadh, Bahadur Khanji III (r.1882-1892) and most probably presented to the vizier of Junagadh, Bahaduddinbhai Hasainbhai
Case: 18k gold, diamonds and polychrome enamel, case maker's punch mark "J&Co.", glazed movement. Dial: enamel. Movm.: bridge movement, tandem winding with mirror polished click works on the top, 2 hammers / 2 gongs, gold screw compensation balance.
Case band and both bezels are lavishly ornamented with magnificent engraving. The case back shows a delicate enamel painting of Bahadur Khanji III, Nawab of Junagadh, in his regalia. The miniature is signed "A. C." and was created by one of the most famous and outstanding enamel painters of the late 19th century - Pierre-Amédée Champod of Geneva.
The case back is decorated with the diamond-studded initials of the vizier of Junagadh Bahaduddinbhai Hasainbhais ("BH"), whose enamel portrait adorns the gold cuvette on the inside. The wonderfully painted portrait is also by the hand of Champod.
Pierre-Amédée Champod (1834-1913) was one of the most celebrated enamel painters of the end of the 19th century, specialised in portraits of important figures from the Orient and from Europe; he also painted beautiful landscapes and dramatic hunting scenes for the Chinese and the Indian market. He worked for important makers such as Bovet, Vaucher, Vrard and Courvoisier Frères.
Mohammad Bahadur Khanji III was born in 1856 and ruled the Muslim state of Junagadh from 1882 until his death in 1892. He was the seventh Nawab of Junagadh and a descendant of Mohammad Sher Khan Babi, who had founded the state and declared its independence in 1730 after the Maratha invasion. Junagadh was tributary to Maratha Empire until it became part of the British Empire in 1807 after the second Anglo-Maratha War. After the Indian independence and the partition of India in 1947, the last ruler of Junagadh Mohammad Mahabat Khanji III signed an accession to Pakistan. However, India did not accept the Nawab’s decision because most of the population of Junagadh was Hindu. In a referendum in February 1948 an overwhelming majority chose India over Pakistan.
Vazier Bahaduddinbhai Hasainbhai, CIE, Junagadh was vizier to Nawab Bahadur Khanji and to his successor, Nawab Rasulkhanji (1892-1911). His Mausoleum in Junagadh, paid for with his own funds, is often referred to as the Taj Mahal of Gujarat.
Originally part of the Sandberg Collection. Illustrated and described in "The Sandberg Watch Collection" by Terence Camerer-Cuss, Geneva 1998, p. 354-355.
The distinctive ebauche was supplied by Piguet Frères; the company was founded in 1887 by Albert Piguet and his brother Edouard. A very similar movement is illustrated and described in the catalogue of the grand Jürgensen exhibition at the museum in Le Locle "Les Jürgensen", Musée d'Horlogerie, Le Locle 1974, pages 38 and 48.
Provenance:
- Sandberg Watch Collection
- Sold at Antiquorum, Geneva "The Sandberg Watch Collection", March 31 / April 1, 2001 (lot 86).
An important gold enamel pocket watch with quarter repeater, grande und petite sonnerie, studded with diamonds and two enamel portraits made by the most famous enamel painter of the late 19th century, Pierre-Amédée Champod - made on special order for the Nawab of Junagadh, Bahadur Khanji III (r.1882-1892) and most probably presented to the vizier of Junagadh, Bahaduddinbhai Hasainbhai
Case: 18k gold, diamonds and polychrome enamel, case maker's punch mark "J&Co.", glazed movement. Dial: enamel. Movm.: bridge movement, tandem winding with mirror polished click works on the top, 2 hammers / 2 gongs, gold screw compensation balance.
Case band and both bezels are lavishly ornamented with magnificent engraving. The case back shows a delicate enamel painting of Bahadur Khanji III, Nawab of Junagadh, in his regalia. The miniature is signed "A. C." and was created by one of the most famous and outstanding enamel painters of the late 19th century - Pierre-Amédée Champod of Geneva.
The case back is decorated with the diamond-studded initials of the vizier of Junagadh Bahaduddinbhai Hasainbhais ("BH"), whose enamel portrait adorns the gold cuvette on the inside. The wonderfully painted portrait is also by the hand of Champod.
Pierre-Amédée Champod (1834-1913) was one of the most celebrated enamel painters of the end of the 19th century, specialised in portraits of important figures from the Orient and from Europe; he also painted beautiful landscapes and dramatic hunting scenes for the Chinese and the Indian market. He worked for important makers such as Bovet, Vaucher, Vrard and Courvoisier Frères.
Mohammad Bahadur Khanji III was born in 1856 and ruled the Muslim state of Junagadh from 1882 until his death in 1892. He was the seventh Nawab of Junagadh and a descendant of Mohammad Sher Khan Babi, who had founded the state and declared its independence in 1730 after the Maratha invasion. Junagadh was tributary to Maratha Empire until it became part of the British Empire in 1807 after the second Anglo-Maratha War. After the Indian independence and the partition of India in 1947, the last ruler of Junagadh Mohammad Mahabat Khanji III signed an accession to Pakistan. However, India did not accept the Nawab’s decision because most of the population of Junagadh was Hindu. In a referendum in February 1948 an overwhelming majority chose India over Pakistan.
Vazier Bahaduddinbhai Hasainbhai, CIE, Junagadh was vizier to Nawab Bahadur Khanji and to his successor, Nawab Rasulkhanji (1892-1911). His Mausoleum in Junagadh, paid for with his own funds, is often referred to as the Taj Mahal of Gujarat.
Originally part of the Sandberg Collection. Illustrated and described in "The Sandberg Watch Collection" by Terence Camerer-Cuss, Geneva 1998, p. 354-355.
The distinctive ebauche was supplied by Piguet Frères; the company was founded in 1887 by Albert Piguet and his brother Edouard. A very similar movement is illustrated and described in the catalogue of the grand Jürgensen exhibition at the museum in Le Locle "Les Jürgensen", Musée d'Horlogerie, Le Locle 1974, pages 38 and 48.
Provenance:
- Sandberg Watch Collection
- Sold at Antiquorum, Geneva "The Sandberg Watch Collection", March 31 / April 1, 2001 (lot 86).
estimated
36.000—50.000 €
Price realized
-