Objects with musical mechanism and automaton

Singing bird box

    Singing bird box

    Switzerland, Geneve

    1819

    Bruguier senior Charles-Abraham

    Tortoise shell, silver, enamel, steel, brass; painted enamel, gilding, engraving, chasing

    3.5 х 9.6 х 6.5 cm, 341 gr

    "8" on the key

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    Tortoiseshell snuffbox with a singing bird, decorated with painted enamel and chased ornament, one of the earliest creations of Charles Abraham Bruzhe, the senior. An oval aperture bordered with a polished frame from gilded silver is in the center of the upper panel. A hinged lid with enamel image of an alpine landscape is in the center of the top panel. A castle on the lakeside and sailing boats in the polished frame with chased elements are depicted on the picture. The lid is mirror-polished inside. A compartment for snuff tobacco is in the rear side of the box. A keyhole and two fixing screws heads are on the bottom panel. A sliding lever for switching the movement on is on the front panel. When the movement is activated, the oval lid opens automatically and a tiny bird in painted feathers appears. It spins, flaps its wings and tail, turns the head, opens and closes the beak; the sound movement imitates bird's chirping. After 38 seconds of the movement's operation the bird stops and hides, the lid descends. The movement is spring driven, it has the so-called fusee - system of stabilization. The key grip is shaped as an oval and a circle joined together by hexagonal plate with number "8". The bar with a square cross-section aperture.

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    Инв. 4490/ДПИ