PORTE-MONNAIE-MONTRE SUISSE EN OR ET ÉMAIL PAR HENRI CAPT, GENÈVE,...

Rectangulaire ciselé de panneaux fleuris partiellement émaillés bleu nuit, chaque panneau centré d’un médaillon, émaillé sur le couvercle d'une scène figurant deux femmes discutant, l’une assise filant un rouet, l’autre debout cousant, sur fond de jardin, et sur la base serti de diamants formant une fleur sur fond émaillé bleu, chaque médaillon s’ouvre avec un bouton poussoir pour révéler sur le couvercle un porte-photo et sur la base une montre encadré par des enroulement feuillagés sur fond poli gravé et signé ‘HENRI CAPT GENEVE’, l’intérieur en soie grise formant trois compartiments
L.: 7 cm. (23⁄4 in.)
Poids brut: 112 gr. (3 oz. 12 dwt.)

Provenance
A SWISS ENAMELLED GOLD PURSE WITH WATCH, BY HENRI CAPT, GENEVA, CIRCA 1830
Cartouche shaped enamelled in dark blue with reserve framed by chased Regence motifs, one side centred by an enamelled medallion figuring on one side two ladies chatting, one looking out a window the other sitting by a spinning wheel, on the other side a jewelled flower bouquet, the medallions open by push button to reveal on one side a photo frame and on the other side a watch set against a polished gold ground engraved with scrolling foliage and HENRY CAPT GENEVE, the rims moulded and opening to reveal silk lined compartments

Henry-Daniel or Henri Capt, along with Isaac Piguet and Philippe Meylan, was in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, one of the leading manufacturers of musical automata and of small mechanical objects of virtue such as this watch purse. He specialised in the production of complex movements and was one of the first Geneva manufacturers to use a mechanical mechanism with a pin cylinder and tuned-tooth comb.Capt moved to Geneva around 1789 and worked for a number of renowned companies, including Jaquet-Droz, Godet, Leschot and his brother-in-law Isaac Daniel Piguet. When Piguet went into partnership with Philippe-Samuel Meylan in 1811, Henry Capt continued to work first on his own, then with his son Charles Henry, until around 1830, when he went into partnership with Aubert et fils on Place Bel-Air in Geneva.