Swiss automaton made for the Chinese market Circa 1820

Gold repeating automaton watch  “The barking dog”
–
A Swiss small gold enamel and pearl quarter repeating “barking dog” automaton watch for the Chinese market by Piguet & Meylan, circa 1820. Gilt brass half-plate movement, free-standing barrel, cylinder escapement, brass escape wheel, three-arm gold balance, flat balance spring. The repeating barking mechanism with a round bellow and whistle is activated by depressing the pendant. Case band and bezels set with half-pearls, back replaced by glass, showing the cuvette decoration with champlevé enamel, gold hinged cuvette in polychrome champlevé enamel with musical trophies, pearl-set pendant, bow with translucent green enamel, aperture for the sound at six o’clock, opening automatically when barking is activated.
–
Eccentric dial, set at the top of translucent Imperial blue enamel engine-turned plate, white enamel, Breguet numerals, outer minute track. Blued steel lozenge hands. The lower half with applied varicoloured gold and silver automaton scene of a dog barking at a cat, the dog moving its head with each movement of the bellows, the whole on applied gold grass with a tree behind. Punched on the movement and inside the cuvette with maker’s trademark and serial number. Case numbered. Property of an Italian Gentleman.
–
Diameter: 39 mm
–
Signed: Piguet & Meylan
–
The watch repeats the hours and quarters with the sound of a barking dog, the rarest form of repeating. There are only about 20 of these watches known, of which the majority are after Jean-Baptiste Oudry’s painting “Dog Attacked by a Swan”. The present watch with the more realistic scene of a dog barking at a cat is extremely rare. Additionally, the majority of barking dog watches are based on 44 or 45 mm. movements 20”’, while this one is only 14”’. We know of only one other such watch, which may in fact be its pendant. The original back of the present watch, in this case probably enamelled in blue, was replaced by the glass so that the enamel scene featuring musical instruments could be more easily admired.