Gold, diamond, enamel and split seed pearl musical harp, by Bessiere & Schneider
An extremely rare and fine gold, diamond, enamel and split seed pearl musical harp, by Bessière & Schneider
Swiss
circa 1800
Serial number to both movement and case 79
The Midas touch...
When wound and the start/stop pin actuated, the single highly melodic musical air plays from the very early Barillet movement.
The movement with twin combs each with eight teeth and hairpin form stack for playing the multiple note timed score. There is a stop bar to the centre of the cylinder. The governor run-down in shaped series between beautifully chamfered polished brass plates.
The number 79 is stamped to the top plate beside the take-up ratchet.
The movement module with self-locking case bolt issuing from the base, of slender wedge-form profile with each hair-pinned tooth fitting most tightly within the slight-tapering plates to locate in the entire soundboard section of the instrument.
The breath-taking case modelled as a 13-string harp, with each gold string having cascading widths and perfectly parallel arranged twisted form, hooped to the tuning pegs of bright-cut diamonds mounted according to size, direct anchor to soundboard, the mast head of circular form with raised roundel of split seed pearls with large central pearl on clipper blue enamel ground, four pierced and tooled ram head bosses as petit apron frieze to blue and white enamels with intermediate tooled banding, column trumpet with scroll tooling and black enamel infill in between blue leaves, ribbon-twist column with alternating leaf and ribbon-chase helix all accompanied by further light blue enamel infill, bobbin base support with matching black enamel and fine tooled decoration, to the perfectly proportioned soundboard with twin top panels flanking the string line on highly polished gold for full string reflection, double flower-head enamels in black and light blue with petit-point tooled detail to outline, right-hand side centre with fan window access to speed director marked in further blue enamel L and V, the opposing sides with deep cobalt blue enamel with full engine turned under-stage, slender cat's eye panels with a mounted arrangement of split seed pearls surrounding the two laurel leaf crested flaming torches and finished with a rectangular border of pure white enamel, top shaped bar with the white, black and light blue enamel ensemble working with the tooled decoration once more for the leaf and diamond trail, before the two gold chain brackets with solid hoops.
The back panel masterpiece of central painted enamel still life study of a basket planted with many flowers including white and pink roses, pansies and purple foxgloves, in darkened interior with black background, the basket hoop with fire-red bow and a single ripe peach on the stone ledge to add that final touch, framed with ray form white enamel infill with canted corners to base, the tiny male winding spindle opening with tooled roundel, twin scrolls and the blue enamel ground, on full revolution white and black arched frieze, underside with the maker's marks.
size
Point of interest -
The technical rudiments of the musical mechanism are very clever. Instead of having a single stack of teeth as one comb able to only play on note at a time, the movement here consists of two sets of combs, stacked in the usual manner, but coming into contact with the cylinder at the half-way point, with each tooth bent over as a hairpin. This not only provides a beautiful tone as the length of each tooth is retained, but also more than one note is played at the same time - the same note at the same time if required.
One of the few wonders of the virtue mechanical music world, few have had the opportunity of seeing these in person, let alone handle one. Of the very few made, most are documented and this maker was responsible for producing at least two examples - this being one of them and an almost identical piece which is part of the Victoria and Albert Museum collection.
Enamelling at this level of quality cannot be described easily. What we have here is a piece of international importance, a museum object to be enjoyed and looked upon as one of the rarest survivors of its type.
We are offering you a unique opportunity to acquire one of the finest musical boxes ever known.
| STOCK No | 1452 |
| AVAILABILITY | Sold |
| PRICE | Sold |
75 Portobello Road London W11 2QB 0207 221 1121 07967 385258
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