Single automaton "Singing Bird" in a cylindrical cage with Helvetic retail boardSold

The automaton is made in the form of a cylindrical domed cage made of brass rods with alternating smooth and twisted posts, reinforced with chased belts; on the side there is a hinged lattice door. The dome is completed with a polished brass ball with a movable ring-handle, a signature detail of Bontems type designs. The round pedestal is decorated with a repoussed frieze of rocaille shoots with acanthus and beaded belts.
The bottom of the cage is covered with beige fabric; in the center there is a brass crossbar, at the foot of which there is a peach-pink silk flower with foliage. On the crossbar there is a mechanical singing bird with plumage made of natural feathers: a crimson-red chest with a dark head and smoky-black wings (scarlet tangar/cardinal type), a glass eye, and a beak open in singing.
Winding the spring - with a steel key with an oval head through a hole on the side surface of the pedestal; on the bottom plate there is a hammer-type start-stop lever and a sound window with a mesh. When launched, the bird sings: turns, flaps its wings and tail, opens its beak; The sound is produced by a cam-controlled bellows mechanism.
Markings and historical information
On the wooden bottom plate there is a brass retailer plate: “HELVETIC I.&M. CORP. / 366 Fifth Avenue / NEW YORK - PARIS" and stamped "MADE IN FRANCE". The board documents the export of French automatons to the American market through a New York importer with a showroom on Fifth Avenue; "MADE IN FRANCE" stamping complies with US customs legislation on marking of origin. The combination of design features - a ball with a ring, twisted rods, a repoussed round pedestal - classifies the mechanism as a product of the Parisian school of the Bontems type.
Condition
Item with signs of noble aging:
Cage and pedestal: brass with uniform patina and spot darkening; rods without deformations; repoussé is read clearly.
Bird: plumage preserved, bright purple chest; slight ruffles and abrasions of the feather on the head and wings; the eye and beak are intact.
Floristry and bottom fabric: the silk flower has faded to a peach-fawn tone; bottom fabric with dust and traces of time.
Bottom plate: wood with scratches and traces of use; board and stamp preserved; legs with green felt pads.
Complete set: a steel winding key with an oval head is included.