Only Online Auction

Hong Kong, Mar 09, 2022

LOT 327

Attributable to Karl Griesbaum
Singing-bird box; gilded metal and painted metal

HKD 17,000 - 34,000

EUR 1,950 - 3,900 / CHF 2,000 - 4,000 / USD 2,200 - 4,400

Sold: HKD 22,500

Gilded metal and painted metal, key-winding, horizontal singing-bird box.
Rectangular box made of embossed metal panels, with scenes on green background, on all sides and on the horizontal oval cover, depicting nightingales and a birder teaching them to sing to the sound of his violin.


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Grading System
Grade: A

Good

Case: 3

Good

Movement: 3*

Good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense

Brand Unsigned, Triberg (Black Forest)

Model attributable to Karl Griesbaum

Year circa 1920-1940

Movement No. unnumbered

Case No. unnumbered

Material gilded metal and painted metal

Caliber rectangular (95 x 60 mm.) brass, going barrel, bellows and cams; the revolving bird with moving wings, beak and tail, controlled by two cams mounted beneath the barrel wheel

Dimensions 50 x 103 x 70 mm. (approx.)

Accessories later fitted box, later metal winding-key

Notes

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.

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.