Uploaded with permission from Raphael Cole.
Displayed at the Museo Cerralbo, Madrid (Spain).
Singing bird box model nº 11 by the French automata maker Bontems, circa 1890. Going-barrel movement. The full-bodied bird exhibits multi-coloured layered feathered plumage with predominant tones of green and red complemented with also green, red, orange and blue iridescent hummingbird feathers. They were dressed by hand so no two birds look exactly alike. The birds crafted by Bontems in this period are the most detailed and proportionate they ever made. It goes up and down, moving bone beak, wings and tailfeather to continuous realistic birdsong, rising through finely pierced and tooled richly toned gilt grille.
Plain polished silver gilt matt fnished lid interior, while the exterior shows a hand-engraved pair of birds, foliage and floral decoration framed by a plain border, in highly polished tortoiseshell case with a small hinged compartment to rear, matching gilt start/stop button to front-right. The top interior of the case was shaved to get a semi-transparent look with a rich variety of tones and shades of honey, brown and amber colours, which allows to see the bellows in action. Measurements: 10 cm by 6.70 cm by 3.10 cm.
Негізгі бет Ғылым және технология Singing bird box by Bontems, c. 1890/Caja de pájaro cantor autómata, Bontems, hacia 1890
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