KOLLER VIEW 03/26

02 pre view. 10 1 Ingenious Mechanism In the 17 th and 18 th centuries, the keeping and training of canaries was immensely popular. In the late 18 th century, living birds were rivalled by a sophisticat- ed mechanism developed by Pierre Jaquet-Droz and his son Henri-Louis. For the first time, this ingenious technology reproduced birdsong with remarkable nat- uralism. A gold and enamel singing-bird box Geneva, ca. 1790. Signed Jaquet-Droz & Leschot London Oval gold box, engine-turned and engraved. 8.7 × 6 × 4 cm. Estimate: CHF 80 000/140 000 2 Imperial gratitude This silver kovsh, bearing the Imperial double eagle, was presented by Empress Catherine the Great to the commander of a Cossack regiment. Catherine II established mounted Cossack units as part of the Im- perial Guard, and the gift of this precious drinking vessel may well have recognised his distinguished service. A silver-gilt kovsh Moscow, 1762, maker’s mark Yakov Maslennikov L 30 cm, H 11.7 cm, 525 g Estimate: CHF 25 000/35 000 3 Stones as art Johann Christian Neuber ranks among the most outstanding goldsmiths and jewellers of European Neoclassicism. Court jeweller to the king of Saxony, he achieved particular renown for his ‛Steinkabinett ʼ boxes. Composed of a multitude of precisely cut hardstones, they elevated minerals from raw materials to works of art in their own right. A ‘Steinkabinett’ bonbonnière Dresden, circa 1785/90. Johann Christian Neuber (1736–1808). D 6.1 cm, H 2.1 cm Estimate: CHF 100 000/180 000 1 2 3