Lot 46

Dentan, London, Movement No. 191, 50 mm, 113 g, circa 1730
A remarkable pair-cased verge pocket watch with "simple" rotating automaton "Martyrdom of St. John Nepomuk"
Case: outer case - silver/ray skin/pique pins. Inner case - silver. Dial: silver, Champlevé/polychrome enamel. Movm.: full plate movement, keywind, chain/fusee, three-arm brass balance.
The silver champlevé dial between "11" and "1" shows a fan-shaped aperture showing the alternating automaton scenes activated by pressing the pendant: five polychrome enamel scenes relating to the martyrdom of St. Nepomuk. He is the saint of Bohemia (Czech Republic), who was drowned in the Vltava river at the behest of Wenceslaus, King of the Romans and King of Bohemia. Later accounts state that he was the confessor of the queen of Bohemia and refused to divulge the secrets of the confessional. On the basis of this account, John of Nepomuk is considered the first martyr of the Seal of the Confessional, a patron against calumnies and, because of the manner of his death, a protector from floods and drowning.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_of_Nepomuk, as of 03/31/2016.

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