Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces
Hong Kong, Oct 27, 2019
LOT 40
MA KARL GRIESBAUM RCA SINGING-BIRD BOX IN THE SHAPE OF A PIANO; SILVER
HKD 32,000 - 40,000
CHF 4,000 - 5,000 / USD 4,050 - 5,050
Sold: HKD 40,000
Silver, key-winding, singing-bird box in the shape of a piano; singing-bird cover decorated with musical instruments.
| Grading System | |
|---|---|
Grade: A |
Good |
Case: 3 |
Good |
Movement: 3* |
Good Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense |
Brand Unsigned
Year Circa 1930-1940
Calibre 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 80 x 105 x 160 mm
Signature Movement
Accessories Silver winding-key (in the shape of a bird)
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 Furtwangen, 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.