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Timepieces spanning from 1760 to 2015 brought Sotheby’s its highest ever
total for a ‘various-owner’ sale of Important Watches in New York, achieving $12.5 million with a very strong 88.8% of lots sold.
The centerpiece of the auction was a magnificent private collection of 22 Swiss enameled automata that achieved $6.1 million. The collection offered the finest examples from the golden age of Swiss watchmaking during the Industrial Revolution, when noted makers such as Jaquet-Droz and Piguet & Meylan married technology and artistry to create miraculous objects in miniature.
The Singing Bird Scent Flask by Jaquet-Droz & Leschot Geneva, circa 1785 was sold for $2,530,000. The automaton features an articulated ivory bird – measuring just 12 millimeters tall – which is accompanied by a highly intricate, miniature organ to replicate the bird’s song. The superbly-decorated and constructed scent flask is covered in enamel and jewels, centered by a recessed medallion with a magnificent scene that showcases varicolored gold sculpture representing a branch with leaves with the singing bird automaton perched atop.
