Only Online Auction
Geneva, Sep 22, 2021
LOT 212
Armin Sternberg & Brothers
Large cage with two singing birds; metal, plaster and tissues
CHF 2,000 - 4,000
EUR 1,850 - 3,700 / USD 2,200 - 4,400 / HKD 17,100 - 34,100
Sold: CHF 2,750
Painted metal and plaster, tissues of different colours and feathers, key-winding, large cage with two singing birds responding to each other; start / stop lever under the object.
| Grading System | |
|---|---|
Grade: AA |
Very good |
Case: 3-8 |
Good Slightly scratched |
Movement: 3* |
Good Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense |
Brand Armin Sternberg & Brothers, Budapest (Hungary)
Model probably made by Karl Griesbaum (1872-1941), Triberg im Schwarzwald (Black Forest, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany)
Year early-20th century
Material metal, plaster and tissues
Diameter 290 mm. (approx.)
Height 560 mm. (approx.) without handle
Accessories long brass winding-key
Notes
The cage bears an engraved brass round plate “Sternberg Ármin és Testvére, Budapest / Cs.és k.udvari Hangszer Gyár / Törv. védjegy Schutzmarke » (Armin Sternberg & Brothers, Budapest / Manufacture of musical instruments / Registered trademark).
Griesbaum, Karl (1872-1941)
The firm Griesbaum was founded in 1905 in Germany, in the Black Forest, in Triberg (Baden-Wurttemberg), by Karl Griesbaum (1872-1941). He is the son of Mathias Griesbaum, a clockmaker. He began working as a micro-mechanic in the basement of his home. He has five children who will work with him: Mathias (1902-1974), Amalia, Helena, Caroline and Karl Joseph (b.1916). Mathias studied clockmaking in Fürtwangen, pursued commercial studies in Karlsruhe, as well as in Switzerland. The most typical items of the Griesbaum House are probably their snuff-boxes with a singing bird, particularly those made in a style reminiscent of the traditional German silversmiths of earlier centuries, but also their boxes with two singing birds and those serving as boxes for cigarettes.
Sternberg, Armin (1861-1929)
Armin Sternberg, a luthier in Budapest (then Austro-Hungarian Empire), was active at the end of the 19th century and in the first third of the 20th century. Court Supplier for musical instruments, he is a pioneer in the area of acoustic technology, a subject he is passionate since the 1890s. In Europe, he is considered one of the best specialists in this field. He is at the head of an important trade and a manufacture of musical instruments (registered trademark). He produces and sells unusual instruments, sometimes strange creations, such as the Johannes Matthias Augustus Stroh (1828-1914) violin (violinophone or violin with pavilion), the tárogató (according to the Albert system), etc. His family left Hungary after World War II.
CONDITIONS AND INFORMATION FOR BUYERS
The purchase price payable by a buyer will be the sum of the final bid price plus the buyer’s premium, together with any applicable sales or compensating use tax. In addition to the hammer price, the buyer’s premium is payable as follows: 25% of the hammer price on each lot.Important notice – Special conditions Please look carefully at all the photos as they are an integral part of the description. Any defect not mentioned in the descriptions but visible on the photos will be considered as described and cannot lead to any claim. The dimensions are given as an indication and may slightly differ from the measures mentioned by the manufacturers especially for contemporary watches. The photos are not retouched. Colors may differ from reality. For timepieces, we guarantee neither the functioning nor the precision of the movement, nor the water-resistance of the case. In addition, please note that movements, parts of mechanisms or cases may be incomplete. The lots are sold “as is”, described to the best of our knowledge and cannot be returned. Once the online bid is placed by the bidder, it cannot be cancelled.