Cabinet of Automatonssinging mechanical birds
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Songbird · Hall I

Goldenfinch and blue tit in a Reuge dome cageSold

Century
20
Origin
Switzerland, Sainte-Croix
Maker
Manufacture Reuge
Materials
Polished and gilded brass, steel (rods, mechanism), natural feathers (yellow bird with a black cap and blue bird), glass (eyes), silk decorative foliage with berries, mustard velvet (bottom), felt pads on the legs.
220 000 ₽

This bird has been sold and will soon leave the hall.

Description

Elegant automaton from the Swiss manufacture Reuge: domed cage with ball top and hanging ring on a polished gilt base, decorated with engraved floral garlands in a neoclassical style. Inside are two birds of bright plumage: a yellow one with a black cap on a perch and a blue one with an open beak at the foot, among the silky foliage. Winding - from below, with a figured key; There is also a mode selector with readable positions STOP / INTER (intermittent start) / continuous singing (indicated by notes). An exemplary example of the Swiss school of automata of the second half of the 20th century: impeccable polishing, precise mechanics, lively polyphonic singing.

Mechanism passport

ManufacturerReuge, Sainte-Croix, Switzerland; mechanism number 9418.
Typespring cam automaton with pneumatic voice module (bellows + whistle with gate).
Windingfrom below, with a removable butterfly key.
Controlsmode lever on the bottom - STOP / INTER / continuous singing (marking engraved).
KinematicsThe cam package controls the head turns, beaks, wings and tails of both birds through wire rods.
Soundthe bellows forces air into the whistle, simulating trills; The sound window is covered with a mesh grille at the bottom.
Supportsthree legs with soft pads.
Height≈ 45–50 cm. Birds: 2.