English silver pair-cased verge with erotic scene Circa 1752

Silver verge with enamel cartouche by J. Samson
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English silver pair cased verge pocket watch with enamel cartouche, Hallmarked London 1752. White enamel dial with Roman hours and Arabic minutes, gilt hands. Outer case with extravagant relief decoration, peripheral floral paintings and two castles, very fine polychrome enamel painting, quality and scene indicate Mussard‘s workshop, plain inner case.
Movement signed and numbered, matching numbers on case and movement.
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Diameter: 50 mm
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Weight: 100 g
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Signed: J. Samson London
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The speciality of this watch is the enamel cartouche. Even back then, the artistic quality of these works was so highly regarded that these cartouches were used over a period of almost 100 years as decorative elements for movements and cases. Works from Mussard’s Workshop and Huaud were especially appreciated. Jean Mussard V (1681-1754) was one of the best enamel painters of the early 18th century. He was the son of Jean IV. He began his career as a goldsmith and became Master on 7 December 1699. Later he became one of the most famous enamel painters, influenced by the style of Les Frères Huaud.
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Jean Mussard V was born and died in Geneva, 1681-1754. He was one of the best enamel painters of the early 18th century, the son of Jean IV and a cousin of the Huauds. He began his career as a goldsmith and became a Master on December 7th, 1699. He later became a painter on enamel, in which discipline he was influenced by the style of Les Frères Huaud. Although he clearly was inspired by their work, his paintings were more according to the taste of the time, they showed religious designs as well as purely secular ones. He went into partnership with his son Jean-Antoine and trained several pupils, among them Gabriel Fontaine, André Oettner and in 1712, Germain Colladon. The scene ‘The Death of Cleopatra’ can be found on several of his enamel watches, but two of his best known subjects are ‘Roman Charity’ and ‘Religious Scene’. His signature appears as ‘Mussard’, ‘Jean Mussard pinx’ and ‘Mussard pinx’.