Geneva, May 15, 2023

LOT 292

GRIESBAUM SINGING-BIRD BOX IN THE SHAPE OF A PIANO; SILVER

CHF 5,000 - 10,000

EUR 5,100 - 10,200 / USD 5,700 - 11,300 / HKD 44,200 - 89,000

Sold: CHF 8,750

Fine and rare, Louis XV-style, solid silver singing bird box with integral stand modeled as a piano.


Grading System
Case: 3-6-8

Good

Slightly oxidized

Slightly scratched

Movement: 3*

Good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense

Brand Griesbaum, Germany

Year Circa 1930-1940

Material Silver

Caliber Rectangular (90 x 60 mm.) brass, with going barrel, bellows and cams; the revolving bird with moving wings, beak and tail, controlled by two cams mounted beneath the barrel wheel

Dimensions 160 x 99 x 81 mm.

Signature Movement

Notes

Griesbaum Founded in 1905 by Karl Griesbaum (1872-1941) in Triberg, in the Black Forest. The son of Mathias Griesbaum, a clockmaker, Karl began by working in the basement of his home. Karl Griesbaum had five children: Mathias (1902-1974), who was named after his grandfather, Karl Joseph (b. 1916), Amalia, Helena, and Caroline. Mathias studied clockmaking in Furtwangen, then pursued commercial studies in Karlsruhe, and later went to Switzerland. The most typical Griesbaum pieces produced during this period were probably their snuff boxes, particularly those made in a style reminiscent of traditional German silversmithery.