~ Silver Singing Bird Box Automaton By Griesbaum ~
A fine quality German made singing bird box automaton.
A singing bird box (boîte à oiseau chanteur in French) is a box, usually rectangular-shaped, which contains within a miniature automaton singing bird activated by means of an operating lever.
Its origins are found in the city of Geneva and its invention in 1784/85 is attributed to Pierre Jaquet-Droz.
Bird boxes are known for the beautiful cases which house these delicate mechanical wonders.
This box is no exception. It is made of white metal (silver) with beautiful filigree decoration to all faces.
The mechanical movement is wound with a key (included).
To the front of the box there is a small slider that when it is pushed to the right, the lid lifts up and a small, mechanical feathered bird pops through a gilt grille. It then begins to turn from side to side, to flap its wings and open and shut its beak producing a stream of birdsong. At the end of the performance the automaton falls back into the box and the lid closes. (Please see accompanying video to see the box in action).
~ Dimensions ~
The box measures 10.5cm (4 ¼ inches) by 7cm (2 ¾ inches) with a height of 4.5cm (1 ¾ inches).
It weighs 570g.
~ Condition ~
The box is in beautiful condition with no damages and very little sign of wear.
The bird itself is also in beautiful condition.
The piece is in full working order with an excellent movement.
#11134
