German gold quarter repeating repoussé verge Circa 1740

Gold repoussé watch in pair cases
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A historically important German gold pair cased quarter repeating repoussé verge pocket watch with an applied enamelled coat of arms of the archbishop of Mainz, circa 1740. Gilt frosted full plate movement, key-winding, applied engraved ornaments, chain/fusee, engraved barrel, two hammers, Egyptian movement pillars, three-arm brass balance, engraved pierced silver balance cock with mascaron. White enamel dial with radial Roman hours, Arabic five-minutes and Louis XV hands. Florally engraved and pierced outer case with a repoussé depiction of Salomon and Sheba, the inner case also pierced and florally engraved, an applied engraved archbishop’s crest with translucent red and opaque white enamel on the back, the movement protection cap with engraved mascaron. Movement signed.
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Diameter: 52 mm
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Weight: 154 g
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Signed: Johann Nikolaus Delle Augsburg
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The coat of arms of the Archbishopric of Mainz depicts a silver wheel with six spokes on a red background. The unusually elaborate execution of the work indicates that this watch was produced around 1740 and was probably the property of Friedrich Karl Joseph von Erthal, the penultimate Prince-elector and Archbishop of Mainz.
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Nicolaus Delle became a master in 1732. On May 10, 1733, he married the widow of watchmaker Joseph Anton Schoener (who had died a year earlier) in Augsburg, which enabled him to be self-employed. Delle was originally from Gdansk.
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King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. The Queen of Sheba is a biblical figure, she is said to have visited the court of King Solomon in Jerusalem in the 10th century BC. Her earliest mention is found in the Old Testament, but she is also mentioned in the Quran and in Ethiopian legends, there is, however, no reference to her in sources from the ancient land of Sheba, today’s Yemen. Thus there is no real proof even today whether the empire of this fabled queen did in fact lie there or in the region of Aksum in Ethiopia, it is not certain even that the legendary figure was based on a historic person.