Repeating Watch

Clarke & Dunster, c. 1725

The scene of a company making music may have been the work of an Amsterdam chaser of French origin. Amsterdam craftsmen were specialized in small-scale depictions chased in gold. The maker of the watchcase, Thauvet Beslay, mounted the scene in a gold ajouré, or openwork, outer case. According to the text engraved on the open book, the scene is from Ovid’s guide to the art of love, the Ars Amatoria.