Important Watches Wristwatches, and C...
Geneva, Hotel Des Bergues, Apr 02, 2000
LOT 325
Attributable to the workshop of Charles Bruguier, Geneva, No. 42, circa 1850.Fine tortoiseshell and 18K gold, singing bird box.
CHF 10,000 - 12,000
C. Two-part, entirely covered with tortoiseshell. The gold singing bird box cover enamelled with a fine Swiss landscape, the enamel backing painted with a composition of roses over a blue ground. Singing bird movement: rectangular plates with turned pillars, fusee with chain, rectangular bellow, the bird with moving wings, tail, beak and turning head controlled by a stack of 8 cams, gilt brass pierced and engraved grill.Dim. 101 x 62 x 36 mm.
| Grading System | |
|---|---|
Grade: AA |
Very good |
Case: 4 |
Fair |
Movement: * 4 |
|
Dial: 4 |
Fair |
Notes
Although it is not signed, this singing bird box is almost identical to that produced by the workshop of Charles Bruguier.Charles Abraham BruguierBorn in Geneva in 1788. He spent the first years of his career working for other manufacturers making automata, before returning to Geneva and establishing his own business. His workshops continued under the guidance of his two sons, followed by his grandson. Bruguier understood better than his predecessors (Jaquet-Droz, Leschot and Les Frères Rochat) the secrets of successfully re-creating ?bird-song?, and he achieved considerable improvements in the design of the movements. His early works, awell as his bird cages, are considered as the finest ?singing? mechanisms ever made in a small size. He died in 1862.