Single automaton “Singing Bird” in a square domed cage on a deep repoussed pedestalNot for sale

The automaton is made in the form of a square domed cage made of brass rods with twisted corner posts and a hinged lattice door on the front side; The finish is a patinated brass ball with a movable ring-handle, a signature Bontems detail. The cage is mounted on a deep rectangular pedestal with repoussed decoration: palmettes and shell motifs at the corners, beaded belts and a foliate frieze; the corners are flanked by spherical finials.
The bottom of the cage is covered with burgundy velvet; in the center there is a brass stand with a crossbar on a figured rosette base. On the crossbar there is a mechanical singing bird with plumage made of natural feathers of an iridescent color: a blue-violet body with a bright blue chest and a green-shimmering crown (type of indigo bunting/hummingbird). When the mechanism starts, the bird sings: it turns, flaps its wings and tail, opens its beak; the sound is reproduced by a bellows mechanism hidden in the pedestal. Winding - with a steel key with a wing-shaped head through a hole in the side wall.
Attribution and tagging
No marks were identified; the attribution of Maison Bontems is established by a combination of features and direct analogues: a square domed cage with a door and a hanging ring on a deep pedestal corresponds to documented products of the workshop, including a specimen from the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum
collections.vam.ac.uk
and a Christie's auction lot with a square relief pedestal
www.christies.com
.
Condition
An item with traces of long-term use, “found” state of preservation:
Metal: brass with deep uniform patina/darkening; repoussé is read clearly; the bars of the cage and the door are without deformation.
Velvet: worn, with scree, debris and local loss of lint.
Bird: plumage worn and ruffled, blue and green iridescent tones retained; the eye and beak are intact.
Complete set: there is a steel winding key with a wing-shaped head.