Exceptional horologic works of art

Hotel Noga Hilton, Geneva, Oct 11, 2003

LOT 575

Attributed to Jaquet-Droz, Geneva, circa 1780. Extremely rare and fine gilt brass and enamel, hanging cage with two singing birds, with a center-seconds clock striking hours and quarters, beneath, a 12-stream fountain, playing six tunes on demand or changing automatically on the hour.

CHF 110,000 - 150,000

EUR 72,000 - 98,000

Sold: CHF 146,500

C. gilt brass cage, square base with canted corners, each side with a finely painted on enamel medallions with children, and pastoral scene, bay-leaf ormolu frame with applied ormolu flower stems, brown background, one medallion hinged for the winding aperture, panel to the right with activating pull cord and lever for singing/silent change, canted corners with gilt brass vase with flowers, center architectural fence panels with tops pierced and engraved with flowers and stylized foliage, gilt wire top centered by gilt flower bud with hinged ring loop. Inside in the center an animated fountain with 12 twisted glass wands coming from a gilt decorated bowl with floral capital, flanked by two nightingales sitting on both sides of gilt bar, each turning around, with animated wings, beak and tail. Base fitted with the dial, reeded bezel, foliate decoration in the corners around the ball and paw feet.D. white enamel, radial Roman numerals, outer minute divisions with five-minute/seconds Arabic markers. Gilt brass elaborate pierced hands.Singing bird movement: brass, two tier, fusee and chain, large barrel for long duration, two-arm fly governor with worm and wheel transmission driving pinned cylinder with 16 levers, 12 for same number of pipes, 4 for bellows and birds animations, birds playing in duets, singing changes automatically.Clock movement: brass, rectangular, 121 x 65 mm, full plate with cylindrical pillars secured by pins, going barrel, verge escapement, plain three-arm brass balance with blued steel balance spring, two-footed skeletonized cock with six spokes, rack and pinion regulator, rack striking with single cam.Dim. Height 52 cm, width 28 cm.


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 3 - 21
Movement: 3*

Good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense
Dial: 3 - 14 - 23 - 01

Notes

Toward the end of the 17th century it was a popular pastime to raise canary birds and teach them to sing. This fashion was the inspiration for the decorative objects using singing birds of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, of which this clock is an example. At first the bird's song was provided by a serinette mechanism, as is the case here; later, the Jaquet-Droz were to invent the whistle with sliding piston, which allowed a much greater miniaturization and the imitation of true bird song. In this case, the birds sing a duo of popular tunes of the period. This cage is illustrated in "Flights of Fancy" by Christian and Sharon Bailly, Antiquorum Editions, 2001, p. 92-93.93.For a biography of Pierre Jaquet-Droz, see lot 38 of the first session catalogue.