BREGUET NO. 2220, “RÉPÉTITION À PONTS, 4EME GRANDEUR”, YELLOW GOLD QUARTER REPEATING OPENFACE WATCH WITH ECCENTRIC SECONDS

SOLD TO MONSIEUR COMTE POTOCKI ON 19 JUILLET 1808 FOR THE SUM OF 2,531 FRANCS

Details

CIRCA: 1808
CASE NO: 2784 by Tavernier
CASE MATERIAL: Yellow gold
CASE DIAMETER: 43 mm.
DIAL: Gold
MOVEMENT: Manual, key-wound
FUNCTIONS: Quarter repeating
BOX: Yes
PAPERS No
WITH: Certificate No 3592 dated 1979 confirming the sale of the watch on 19 Juillet 1808 and green presentation box


Lot Essay

Count Stanislas Kostka Potocki (1755-1821)
The Polish nobleman, politician, writer, collector and patron of the arts was one of the most emblematic figures of the Age of Enlightenment in his country. A member of an old noble Polish family and son of General Eustachy Potocki, Stanislas was educated at the Warsaw Collegium Nobilium before studying literature and the arts in Wilanow.
On 2 June 1776, he married Princess Aleksandra Lubomirska, the daughter of Stanislas Lubomirski, a Grand Marshall of the Crown, also one of Breguet's faithful clients. In 1792, he became a General of the Army, participating in the Russo-Polish war of 1792, for the defense of the constitution of 3 May 1791. Count Potocki furthermore held the knighthood of the White Eagle and the Saint Stanislas Merits and was Great Master of the Polish Freemasons. From 1792 to 1797, he lived abroad, having left his country after its first dismemberment. He was arrested in Carlsbad after the uprising of Kosciuszko, then lived in captivity for eight months in Josephstadt. When the Great Duchy of Warsaw was created he became the Senator Palatine, Head of the Council of State and of the Council of Ministers. Napoleon made him Minister of Culture and Education, and he retained these posts even after the annexation of the Polish Kingdom by Russia in 1815. Potocki founded the University of Warsaw in 1816 and was elected President of the Senate in 1818, a post which he held until 1820. An art lover and avid collector, he devoted his fortune to promoting literature, sciences and arts, and built up a beautiful collection of paintings, Etruscan vases and engravings in his home, Wilanow Palace. In 1805, in a visionary move, Potocki opened his art collection and a portion of the castle to the public, thus making Wilanow one of Poland's earliest museums. Count Stanislas Polocki died on 14 September 1821 and was buried at Wilanow.