A fine Swiss porcelain inset engraved gilt brass sub-miniature carriage timepiece Unsigned, circa 1900 The single train movement with cylinder escapement vertically planted to the rear of the frontplate and numbered 728 to the lower margin of the frosted backplate which incorporates a cut-away at the top right to reveal the balance wheel, the circular white enamel Arabic numeral dial with gilt rosette centre, brass hands and gilt canted bezel set within a rectangular porcelain panel finely polychrome painted with cupid preparing his arrows to lower margin, the frosted gilt case with hinged reeded baton carrying handle and stylised rosette and foliate motif engraved top over cavetto cornice and canted angles further engraved with stylised scrollwork, the sides and rear door with finely painted panels depicting full length portraits of Classical females attended by Putti, on cavetto moulded skirt base with stylised line and leafy spandrel engraved decoration to each side and integral bracket feet, 6cm (2.375ins) high. Provenance: The beneficiary of the Estate of a private collector, East Midlands. Miniature French carriage clocks are called Mignonettes or little darlings and come in three graded sizes with No. 1 being the smallest at only 3.25 inches high. The current lot however is even smaller hence is described as 'sub miniature'. The porcelain panels are particularly finely painted befitting a timepiece of this size and the engraving precisely executed. A comparable timepiece (almost certainly from the same workshop) is illustrated in Roberts, Derek CARRIAGE and other Travelling CLOCKS page 121, Fig. 7.9.