Collector's Pocket Watches, Wristwatc...
New York, Grand Havana Room, Mar 19, 2003
LOT 197
Blaise Bontems, Paris, circa 1880.Fine and very rare, tortoise, singing double bird box.
USD 22,000 - 26,000
EUR 20,000 - 24,000
C .all tortoise, hinged back panel revealing key compartment, bottom with winding aperture, top with oval aperture for the singing birds, silver cover engraved with flowers and stylized foliage. M. rectangular, large going barrel with air and song cams underneath, rectangular bellows.Dim. 100 x 65 x 37 mm
| Grading System | |
|---|---|
Grade: AA |
Very good |
Case: 3 - 48 |
|
Movement: 3* |
|
Dial: - |
Notes
Singing bird boxes with double birds are exceptionally rare. At the end of the nineteenth century Parisian firm of Blaise Bontems made few of them. Their entire production was very limited with an annual production of approximately 400 pieces per year. Only a few double bird boxes must have been made. This one was chosen by Sharon and Christian Bailly to illustrate Bontems achievements in their book "Oiseaux de Bonheur", Antiquorum Editions, Geneva 2001, p. 309.